Fugue state

From ArticleWorld

A fugue state, or dissociative fugue,is strongly associated with dissociative amnesia in which there is an inability to remember personal information. This results in a loss of identity which then necessitates the creation of a new one. It is similar to Dissociative Identity Disorder with the difference that DID is usually a long term process where the roots of the problem can be found in childhood, for example, and so there is sufficient time for the development of a new personality.

Causes

Dissociative fugue, however, occurs because of a sudden event such as head trauma or a sudden encounter with a person or an occasion which triggers a memory of a traumatic time. As a result, a new personality emerges.

Fugue states are reported more often at times of stressful events such as war or disasters. Personal life stressors like financial problems or legal issues may also result in the manifestation of a fugue state. It has been put forward that they are the result of repressed wish-fulfillment in that they have the effect of removing the person involved from being responsible for their actions or the actions of another which has an effect on them. Because it is usually only personal memories that are affected rather than abstract knowledge, a diagnosis of madness is ruled out.

Waking up

The duration of a fugue state is usually brief and the person involved ‘wakes up’ themselves one day, perhaps to find themselves surrounded by people they don’t know in a place they are unfamiliar with. Memory is usually regained with only the time spent in fugue lost forever. There are few after-effects if the state was short-lived, but if the fugue state lasted long enough, the person involved may have difficulties re-adjusting to their past life.