Hijacking

Hijacking comes from the English word 'to capture' or 'to seize'. It is an uncommon method of torture/ fear conditioning wherein the victim is exposed to tracker jacker venom, which is used to destort memories and, due to the nature of the venom, makes it very difficult to the victim to determine whether facts or memories are true or false. Tracker Jacker venom leads to suffering mental confusion, which aids the distortion of memories. According to Beetee, details are scarce because of the Capitol's secretive nature. The venom targets the part of the brain which houses fear, and distorts fond (or any) memories into scary, even terrifying recollections. Peeta was subjected to this method of conditioning, causing him to temporarily hate Katniss, having violent, potentially homicidal outbursts. He overcomes this, and grows to love Katniss once more. There are no available or existing records on hijacking rehabilitation. Although it is not specified in the text what was the most successful treatment, Beetee and mental health proffessionals suggest "reverse hijacking", in which Peeta is drugged with calming Morphling and exposed to happy memories of Katniss. Even much later, Peeta still suffers from relapsces caused by the hijacking.