This will allow the subject to sometimes be recovered spontaneously when particular cures are encountered. Given the very delicate and often times dramatic nature of memory loss in these such cases, there usually is a concerted effort to help the person recover their identity and history. Both global and situationally specific amnesia are often distinguished from the organic amnesic syndrome, in that the capacity to store new memories and experiences remains intact. However, although some fraction of psychogenic amnesia cases can be explained in this fashion, it is generally acknowledged that true cases are not uncommon. As Kopelman (2002a) notes, however, care must be exercised in interpreting cases of psychogenic amnesia when there are compelling motives to feign memory deficits for legal or financial reasons. Committing homicide experiencing or committing a violent crime such as rape or torture experiencing combat violence attempting suicide and being in automobile accidents and natural disasters have all induced cases of situation-specific amnesia (Arrigo & Pezdek, 1997 Kopelman, 2002a). The diagnosis is usually made retroactively when a doctor reviews the history and collects information that documents the circumstances before people left home, the travel itself, and the establishment of an alternative life.įunctional amnesia can also be situation specific, varying from all forms and variations of traumas or generally violent experiences, with the person experiencing severe memory loss for a particular trauma. Sometimes dissociative fugue cannot be diagnosed until people abruptly return to their pre-fugue identity and are distressed to find themselves in unfamiliar circumstances. A psychological examination is also done. The doctor carefully reviews symptoms and does a physical examination to exclude physical disorders that may contribute to or cause memory loss. Diagnosis Ī doctor may suspect dissociative fugue when people seem confused about their identity or are puzzled about their past or when confrontations challenge their new identity or absence of one. People have also experienced a post-fugue anger. Symptoms of a dissociative fugue include mild confusion, and once the fugue ends, possible depression, grief, shame and discomfort. It is most commonly associated with childhood victims of sexual abuse who learn over time to dissociate memory of the abuse ( dissociative amnesia ). Fugues are precipitated by a series of long-term traumatic episodes. Additionally, an episode of fugue is not characterized as attributable to a psychiatric disorder if it can be related to the ingestion of psychotropic substances, to physical trauma, to a general medical condition, or to dissociative identity disorder, delirium, or dementia. Because of this, there is not normally any treatment necessary for people who have been in fugue states. It is a facet of dissociative amnesia, according to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).Īfter recovery from fugue, previous memories usually return intact. Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering, and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity. The state can last days, months or longer. It is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality, and other identifying characteristics of individuality. Dissociative fugue states are more common in adults than in children symptoms usually appear in a person’s 20s and 30s, but sometimes it can show up in kids as young as 8 years of age.Dissociative fugue, formerly fugue state or psychogenic fugue, is a dissociative disorder. Dissociative fugue is a rare condition, with prevalence estimates as low as 0.2 percent in the general population. In addition to confusion about identity, people experiencing a dissociative fugue state may also develop a new identity. The DSM-5 refers to dissociative fugue as a state of “bewildered wandering.” Similarly, they may find themselves somewhere in their home, such as a closet or in the corner of a room, with no memory of getting there. People who experience a dissociative fugue may suddenly find themselves in a place, such as on the beach or at work, with no memory of traveling there. This subtype of dissociative amnesia often includes some form of unexpected travel. Formerly called psychogenic fugue, dissociative fugue, is a psychological state in which a person loses awareness of their identity or other important autobiographical information.
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