What is dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue?

Per the DSM-5, dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue is the “purposeful travel or bewildered wandering that is associated with amnesia for identity or for other important autobiographical information.”1(p156) As the name fugue implies, the condition involves psychological flight from an overwhelming situation.

What is the difference between dissociative fugue and dissociative amnesia?

Treatment of dissociative amnesia is aimed at the restoration of missing memories while treatment of dissociative fugue is focused on the recovery of memory for identity and events preceding the fugue.

What is a dissociative fugue state?

The Merck Manual defines “dissociative fugue” as: One or more episodes of amnesia in which the inability to recall some or all of one’s past and either the loss of one’s identity or the formation of a new identity occur with sudden, unexpected, purposeful travel away from home.

Does dissociative fugue have psychotic features?

Conclusions. The observation in this case report brings to the fore that individuals with dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue can have psychotic symptoms, and it takes a longer time to recover from memory disturbances.

What is the difference between dissociative amnesia and retrograde amnesia?

Dissociative amnesia is an episodic type of memory disorder in which retrograde amnesia is present while anterograde amnesia is not seen. This type of amnesia does not result from neurological damage to the brain. Rather, it is due to some psychological causes. Thus, it is called psychogenic amnesia.

What can cause a fugue state?

Causes. The onset of a dissociative fugue state is usually sudden and follows a traumatic or highly stressful event. Dissociative fugues are associated with difficult events, such as natural disasters and wars, as well as severe marital or financial distress, alcohol abuse, depression, and a history of child abuse.

What triggers fugue?

Dissociative fugue is caused by a situation that gives the person extreme emotional stress. The dissociative fugue is believed to occur as the person’s means of escape from the stress that they can’t otherwise cope with. A common cause of dissociative fugue is severe sexual trauma of some sort.

What causes sudden fugue?

The onset of a dissociative fugue state is usually sudden and follows a traumatic or highly stressful event. Dissociative fugues are associated with difficult events, such as natural disasters and wars, as well as severe marital or financial distress, alcohol abuse, depression, and a history of child abuse.