Gelisim News

Psychiatrist Psychotherapist Onur Okan Demirci from Istanbul Gelisim University evaluated the disease of Özgür Arduç, the killer of Ceren Özdemir. Demirci talked about the amok syndrome known as ‘killing disease’ as follows:

“In the recent murder, in which a young woman was brutally murdered, the killer’s cold-blooded, emotionless expressions drew attention. This shows that the killings were not only committed for revenge, animosity, jealousy. In the world of psychiatry, there is a condition called 'Amok Syndrome or disorder'. In some sources, it is also called ‘running amok’ or ‘amok’. The word Amok comes from the Malay word 'mengamok', which means very angry and helpless attack.”

Describing that Amok syndrome is usually seen in undeveloped or developing Asian societies, Psychiatrist Psychotherapist Onur Okan Demirci said: “It is rarely seen in developed societies. It was first observed by Captain James Cook in one of the primitive island societies in Malaysia 200 years ago. There are 2 types of Amok disease: Beramok and Amok. Beramok type is generally associated with aggressive behaviors as a result of the loss of a relative and depressive mood, whereas Amok, the other type, is associated with severe anger and aggressive behavior after a mental health problem such as psychotic disorder, personality disorder and delusional disorder.”

Telling that Amok people kill people with an anger or aggressive attack but without any justification, Psychiatrist Psychotherapist Onur Okan Demirci said as follows:

“They do this in cold blood and do not express any regret. After performing the act of killing, another part of them enters into a depressed mood and completes the process with the act of killing themselves (suicide). They are often predisposed to violence. Rarely, it can also be seen in people with no background of violence. This is called ‘running Amok’ because the person can act thoughtlessly and soulless with the desire to kill whoever he encounters. Persons with amok disorder are likely to engage in defensive action by attacking with primitive behavior as a result of the threat perception created by some structures in the brain (amygdala, etc.). These people have the potential to kill people whoever he encounters without any justification, and in this case they can be classified as very dangerous.”

Noting that there is no effective treatment for Amok disorder, Psychiatrist Psychotherapist Demirci evaluated as follows: “Therefore, it would be more effective than treatment to try to take precautions by identifying these people before treatment. Observing clues such as paranoia thoughts, self-harm behaviors, loss of a relative or behavior changes after a financial crisis, other attack events in the past before the killing actions of the people with Amok disorder may be the only way to prevent the murders that the person may have in the future.”