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Survivor syndrome and concentration camp syndrome (K-Z syndrome) are terms which have been used to describe the reactions and behaviors of people who have survived massive and adverse events, such as the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and the bombing of Hiroshima. They were described as having a pattern of characteristic symptoms including anxiety and depression, social withdrawal, sleep disturbance and nightmares, physical complaints and emotional liability with loss of drive. Commonly such survivors feel guilty that they have survived the trauma and others - such as family, friends, and colleagues - did not. Both conditions, along with other descriptive syndromes covering a range of traumatic events are now subsumed under post-traumatic stress disorder.
References in popular culture
In Kurt Vonnegut's novel Bluebeard, the protagonist Rabo Karabekian's father had survivor syndrome from witnessing the Armenian genocide. Ironically, he only witnessed a small part of the event; simply hiding in a deserted village was traumatic enough. His wife actually witnessed the killings, and pretended to be dead while hiding under corpses, yet she did not develop survivor syndrome. In the book, the character Circe Berman talks about survivor syndrome, saying that it has a hereditary nature.
In the workplace
The term is also sometimes used to describe the impact on the emotions and behaviors of employees who remain in organizations where large-scale reductions in the workforce have recently occurred.
Symptoms include:
- lower motivation and morale
- reduced loyalty to the organization
- lower trust and increased skepticism
- feelings of guilt
- flashbacks
After effects include:
- lower productivity levels
- increased absences
- higher labor turnover
References
- Raphael Beverley, (1986). When disaster strikes. PP 90-91. Century Hutchinson, London.
- Wilson JP, & Raphael B Editors. Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations of Traumatic Stress Syndromes. The International Handbook of Traumatic Stress Syndromes, p 1. Plenum Press, New York. 1993.