Is The Third Man Syndrome A Survival Mechanism? Read Here

It is not every day that we come across mysterious terms like the Third Man Syndrome. However, a recent episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit sparked a detailed discussion on the same. Originally aired in March 2024, the episode primarily focuses on an assault that took place on the character of Javier after he sensed someone beside him during the attack. While the NYPD struggled to find the mysterious person, the main protagonist Olivia Benson claimed that there was no one around him as the woman who saw the entire attack said that “Javier was alone.”

To this, Detective Terry Bruno explained that it could be a case of Third Man Syndrome. “It’s a weird hiccup in the human brain when it’s trying to comfort itself in survival situations, not too different than a guardian angel,” he added.

Now the question arises— what actually is Third Man Syndrome and how does it affect a person’s mindset or behaviour?

As the latest episode has sparked a lot of discussions on social media platforms, many took to X to share their thoughts on the theory. A user wrote, “Look up the “Third man syndrome”. People in dire straights experience a presence that guides them out of a bad situation. Ernest Shackleton experienced it. Guardian angel?” while another one commented, “Accidentally ruined my best friend’s day by excitedly telling her about Third Man syndrome while she’s on a mountaineering course in the snow.”

“Implement the Third Man Syndrome. This phenomenon is an unseen presence reported by mountain climbers and explorers during traumatic survival situations,” another X wrote on the micro-blogging platform.

It is a phenomenon when a person during a situation emergency or crisis feels the presence of an additional person who does not or never existed. Sometimes it is a comforting presence whereas other times that feeling even intervenes and provides assistance to save the person’s life. From mountaineers to polar explorers, divers, prisoners of war, sailors and even 9/11 survivors, there are a number of stories of people who have experienced the presence of a companion and a helper.

Example Of Third Man Syndrome

One such encounter was recorded in verse by T.S. Eliot in his poem, inspired by Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Towards the end of his imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914, there was a point when Shackleton and his two surviving crew members almost faced death. However, it was then that Shackleton suddenly felt an unseen presence around them. While their ship was ice-bound, the group still managed to set off on foot to cross the ranges and glaciers of South Georgia to reach a whaling station.

Years after the dangerous expedition, Shackleton confined it to a journalist revealing, “It seemed to me that we were four, not three.”