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Auschwitz Syndrome: Geroge Sodini Claimed Suffering on Website
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by Amy Judd | August 5, 2009 at 01:34 pm
1356 views | 68 Recommendations | 39 comments
Before he entered a LA Fitness Gym in Bridgeville Pensyvania, and shot 5 women dead and wounded 15 others, George Sodini wrote on his blog that he suffered from Auschwitz Syndrome, and that is sustained state of pain and suffering had become so normal for him that he needed to do something about it.
In an entry dated January 5, he laments, "Every evening I am alone, and then go to bed alone. ... Why should I continue another 20+ years alone? I will just work, come home, eat, maybe do something, then go to bed (alone) for the next day of the same thing. This is the Auschwitz Syndrome, to be in serious pain for so long one thinks it is normal. I cannot wait for tomorrow!"
But what is Auschwitz Syndrome?
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Also called Survivor Syndrome, Concentration Camp Syndrome, and K-Z Syndrome, Auschwitz Syndrome describes the actions and behavoirs of someone after they have suffered through a very traumatic experience, such as surviving the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and being imprisoned at the deadly Auschwitz concentration camp.
When someone undergoes a trama of this nature, they can develop certain behaviors such as anxiety and depression, social withdrawal, nightmares and a loss of drive to participate in life anymore. Survivors often feel immense guilt that they have survived when thousands of others have died.
It is a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
But why would George Sodini claim to be suffering from Auschwitz Syndrome? What massive traumatic experience did he survive?
From his blog post it appears that the pain of being alone for over 20 years had worn Sodini down to the point that he lived in this world of suffering that by the end, no one could save him from. It became so normal for him to be alone that the pain almost numbs completely and that was his normal world, however it doesn't always mean that the person suffering just accepts that, which clearly Sodini did not.
It might appear to some that Sodini's loneliness cannot compare to something like surviving the Holocaust in a concentration camp - what do you think?
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Amy Judd
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Blue Crush
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (39)
at 13:45 on August 5th, 2009
Why would he need to kill other people? And he had not been alone for 20 years. One of the women he shot was his ex-girlfriend. Just another example of weak people making excuses for their own problems. Society has learned form "experts" that nothing is your fault. Someone or something else must be to blame. Eating cheeseburgers don't make us fat McDonalds does. Robbing stores does not make us criminals the crack cocaine did it. The sociological chickens are comming home to roost!
at 13:52 on August 5th, 2009
His PREGNANT ex girlfriend. The guy was just a selfish and deranged individual.
at 17:52 on August 5th, 2009
The latest from MSNBC:
"Sodini was a member of the health club and had been there two times Tuesday before he came back at night, police said. He did not have a relationship with any of his victims, according to police."
at 13:54 on August 5th, 2009
Sorry, what do you mean he hadn't been alone for 20 years? Alone as not in a relationship he means, he said that in his own blog.
at 14:16 on August 5th, 2009
I think mental health is a completely different kettle of fish, there's probably a lot we still don't know about it.
at 14:27 on August 5th, 2009
Stuffing yourself with cheeseburgers could be a sign of comfort eating & depression. Of course it can be a mental issue perhaps like anorexia. You have to 'get into the mind' to work some people out. It's like having a broken down computer, you have find what has gone wrong with it. Even some cars are lemons because there's something wrong with the mechanics. Some things can be controlled or someone can use cognitive therapy, therefore may be prevented. Each issue is so different from one other. I suppose the challenge is whether the person was in a mental state that he or she knew what he was doing was wrong, but with a disordered mind, it can be difficult, for example when they claim they hear voices etc...it must be quite complex all this.
at 14:11 on August 5th, 2009
Thanks for uploading this story on NP. I have never heard of anything like it. I wonder if there are any Survivor Organisations about?
at 14:12 on August 5th, 2009
Can anyone else shed any light on this disorder?
at 14:12 on August 5th, 2009
I wonder whether he saw a doc about this.
at 14:14 on August 5th, 2009
I have never heard of anyone who went to Auschwitz who went on to kill others...
This disorder is very curious, and I want to know more!
at 14:25 on August 5th, 2009
It's definitely not an excuse to go on and kill others, and I haven't heard about any Auschwitz survivors who went on to kill others either - I think he was using the phrase to describe his own traumatic situation and what happened to him, however, in my opinion being a survivor of the Holocaust and his situation are not even in the same league.
at 14:42 on August 5th, 2009
You are probably right it's not any syndrome, but why do we have to label it anyway? Why not try to address it as a society? I haven't seen one comment about this going to the fact that he was left out. Why is it that there is a situation where this can and obviously does happen? He was right that "A man needs a woman for confidence", and vice-versa as well. In the past, it seems that there was usually someone for everyone, but nowadays, many are opting to stay single instead. What has changed? Why do is it there wasn't one woman interested in what appears to be a fairly decent guy, noted to be a "Nice guy".
at 14:29 on August 5th, 2009
It will be interesting to find out if other people with the same disorder did the same thing. Surely this guy can't be the only one?
at 14:31 on August 5th, 2009
His medical records may have a pattern of this behaviour perhaps. Surely he can't just suddenly have this disorder and 'use it for his own ends?'. There must be a history.
at 14:44 on August 5th, 2009
In Wikipedia, one person called " Rick Rescorla, chief security administrator of Morgan Stanley at the World Trade Center, was said to have acted upon survivor's guilt as a result of traumatic experiences during the Vietnam War."
What I think is odd about the man's story in Amy's post, is the big guilt factor of this disorder. Being alone sounds like he is just depressed. If he has this disorder, as he says, what does he have to feel guilty about?
at 14:44 on August 5th, 2009
Has he done this research about the disorder properly?!
at 14:50 on August 5th, 2009
There is a lot of pressure for people to be in couples which doesn't help, particularly if someone has been alone for 20 years, it can make them sad and bitter. Frequently they don't get invited 'as they're alone' to parties and, depending where they live, there may be no decent social life that includes single people. Where I am there is nothing for single women!
at 15:25 on August 5th, 2009
Beaulieu: You make a good point. This person probably felt so rejected and lonely that it got to the point where he could no longer bear it. I have a friend that I've known since 1969 and she has been stalked by an ex-boyfriend for thirty-eight years. The guy is miserable and depressed and has only had one other girlfriend throughout that entire time. He can't seem to let go and he's consumed in his own misery. Throughout the thirty-eight years, however he hasn't gone crazy to the point of getting violent and as a result the police don't have legal justification for arresting him. We're worried that someday he may finally freak out and it's terrible to say, but some of us are almost beginning to hope that he does, in fact, cross the line so that the police can finally get him off the streets.
at 15:50 on August 5th, 2009
I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder having survived a massive explosion and fire. I have my doubts this man also suffered something similar?
How can a man hate women so much when I love them all?
at 20:36 on August 5th, 2009
J2B: Your doubts are well justified. I guess some people can't handle very much at all. But JEEZ! Do yo really love them all? LOL!
at 21:26 on August 5th, 2009
Rory Cripps
yes! I love them all!
at 17:58 on August 5th, 2009
Police news conference Wednesday reveals details about the shooter: Video
at 18:18 on August 5th, 2009
I have zero sympathy for this worm. He indulged his hate for women and snuffed out the lives of people he didn't even know. No wonder he is lonely. He only cares for himself. There was some confusion as to whether he survived this mass crime. If he survives he must be tried for a hate crime, not simple murder. The comments from his diary read like a self centred teenager.
at 20:09 on August 5th, 2009
He is a punk and a____ fill in the blank, isn't he? Unfortunately there are many of them out there that are flying under the radar . . . .
at 18:40 on August 5th, 2009
It is my opinion when the Sodini referred to this syndrome that he was describing what his status was like, not necessarily the exact same description including the guilt and what not. However, I believe that by nature or by God, a man and a woman belong together, now this said, if we begin to place other sociological reasoning's for why someone would have such a strong desire for companionship, we begin to create a complex pile of weight that really can be devastating to an individual over X amount of time. Whatever the devastating factors that can drive a person to kill, it happened, it is an obvious deviation, not a natural desire. For me it is simple why he killed that which he could not obtain. It is what he believed was the source of his suffering. So he wanted to make it suffer, it must have been in his mind that somehow this horrendous act was made justifiable.
at 18:42 on August 5th, 2009
There is no excuse to kill people regardless of his alleged loneliness or whatever reasons.
at 19:05 on August 5th, 2009
Sodini's blog post seems to be full of contradictions, racism, and blame, why would anyone believe any of what he has to say about this "project," as he called it?
Everyone is at fault, as far as he's concerned - from his pastor "I think his crap did the most damage," his mother "her way and only her way with no flexibility toward everyone in the household. A power and control thing," his brother "the biggest, most self-centered jagoff I know" to Obama "Amerika has chosen The Black Man. Good - Black dudes have thier choice of best white hoez" - to a 16 year old blogger on an internet forum "this little hoe has had more sex than ME in my LIFE, and I am 48. One more reason. Thanks for nada, bitches! Bye". He's not to blame, everyone else is!
He even mentions cancelling the first attempt in January if there was snow "The crowd will be thin so I would postpone."
The guy knew he suffered from depression, why didn't he seek treatment? Money wasn't the problem, as he notes that his worth is "over $250K (after all debts) as of end of 2008."
Nope, zero sympathy here either, he was filled with bitterness, anger and frustration, but did nothing to help himself. It's just too bad he took innocent victims with him!
at 20:15 on August 5th, 2009
I agree with you, Blue Crush. So many people are struggling to just get a job! And here this man George Sodini is-- tallying his net worth which is very substantial compared to the average joe, and he goes ahead and commits this crime against himself, others, and his community!
at 21:56 on August 5th, 2009
I used to live next to Bridgeville...this guy had a definite mental health problem.
I wonder if he was on SSRI antidepressants...I ALWAYS wonder if people who commit outrageous violent unusual murders are on SSRI drugs. They have warnings on them for suicidal or violent behavior now.
The makers of Prosac lost a lawsuit filed against them in Louisville, KY some years ago after a man who was taking the drug, walked into his workplace and killed many people. His family sued the makers of Prosac and they won.
I WISH the government would start a data base of these types of crimes and see how many people who commit them are on SSRI drugs.
I wonder...was he on them???
I wish someone could find out.
at 09:44 on August 10th, 2009
I agree with your speculation. The common denominator in all of these murder sprees is SSRI's. For example the Amish school shooting. I live under 30 miles away. It was not in the national news but in the local York paper that the shooter had gone to one of the victim's aunts who owned a natural health store and told her that the medicine (SSRI) that the doctor had prescribed for him was making him feel weird. He said he had violent bloodbath dreams and sometimes could not distinguish dreaming from reality. This is not all that uncommon.
My sister works for a police department. As soon as something like this happens, they look for prescription pill evidence. So the police are becoming wise to it.
They say the riskiest time for violence/suicide is when a person first gets on them or comes off of them.