concentration-camp syndrome

a variant form of posttraumatic stress disorder suffered by survivors of concentration camps. Persistent stress symptoms in survivors consist of severe anxiety, defenses against anxiety, an obsessive ruminative state, psychosomatic reactions, depression, and survivor guilt produced by remaining alive while so many others died.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

urban legend

an incredible or lurid story, often involving a mixture of horror and humor, that is widely repeated as if true (often as the experience of a “friend of a friend”) but can never be firmly documented. Urban legends differ from myths and folktales in that they nearly always have a contemporary setting and often involve modern technology (e.g., the many such tales about microwave ovens).