Dissociative Amnesia with Dissociative Fugue

PsychologyAbnormal Psychology

A person was declared missing after he disappeared from his room. Approximately 400 miles distant, he was discovered at his brother's house after two days. When questioned, he stated that he had no idea when he left his room, how he got there, what kind of transportation he used, or where he acquired his money. All he could recall was that two days prior, while studying, he witnessed surreal things in his room, and he could not recall what followed after that. This individual was a medical student who developed Dissociative Amnesia with Fugue due to academic and financial stresses.

What is Dissociative Amnesia?

Dissociative Amnesia is a rare type of psychiatric disease that falls under the umbrella term "dissociative disorders." It is described as the inability to recall key autobiographical information. It is the most prevalent dissociative disorder with a prevalence rate of 1.8%, and is frequently diagnosed in patients between the ages of 20 and 40. In this disorder, memory loss is retrograde, i.e., the inability to recall past information, and it is sudden and cannot be explained by a physiological reason or typical forgetfulness. Individuals cannot remember certain facets of their personal life and identity in this situation, but their basic habitual patterns, such as reading, brushing, and skills, are preserved.

What is Dissociative Fugue?

Dissociative Fugue is the split between conscious and unconscious states. Along with having Amnesia, the person may leave their house and wander for days, weeks, or even years before ending up in a new location and having no idea how they got there. During the fugue state, individuals can even alter their identities.

Dissociative fugue can be difficult to tell apart from sleepwalking. However, it differs from all other parasomnias in that it develops gradually from alertness during sleep rather than abruptly.

Diagnostic Criteria for Dissociative Amnesia with Dissociative Fugue

To be diagnosed with Dissociative Amnesia with Fugue, the individual should meet the following criteria:

• The individual should be unable to remember some or more autobiographical information mostly related to traumatic experiences. Furthermore, this inability to remember should not be related to normal forgetfulness.
• The individual should experience disturbances and impairment in daily functioning.
• The disruption should not be brought on by any nervous system disorder or other illness, such as partial complex seizures, temporary global Amnesia, the effects of a closed head injury or traumatic brain injury, or another neurological condition. It also should not be brought on by a substance's physiological effects (such as alcohol or other drug abuse, medication, etc.).
• Dissociative identity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, somatic symptom disorder, or a severe or minor neurocognitive disorder should not be able to explain the problem better.
• The individual leaves their home, place of employment, or close relationships abruptly and seemingly on purpose for days or weeks at a time or wanders around aimlessly. Amnesia is typically associated with confusion about one's identity and the presentation of a new identity. During Fugue

What are the Causes of Dissociative Amnesia with Fugue?

Following are the significant causes for dissociative amnesia with fugue:

• Dissociative Amnesia is not caused by any accident or head injury; it is the mind's way of hiding the traumatic event from the individual's consciousness.
• It typically occurs after a very stressful event and is usually related to victimization, intentional self-harm, suicide attempt, child abuse (sexual and physical), and interpersonal violence.
• It is also linked to PTSD and is commonly encountered in soldiers who have been involved in wars.
• It might also have hereditary factors.

Treatments involved in Dissociative Amnesia with Fugue

Creating a secure, comforting environment for patients is typically the first step in treatment, followed by psychotherapy, hypnosis, or drug-induced semi-hypnosis. A successful technique is questioning the patient while they are under hypnosis or semi-hypnosis. In order to help the patient, regain continuity with their identity and sense of self and construct a coherent life narrative, it is frequently therapeutically beneficial to fill in the gaps as much as possible. Perhaps combined with hypnosis or drug-facilitated interviews, psychotherapy may be utilized with individuals who have suffered dissociative fugue to try and restore memory. However, these efforts are not always successful. A psychiatrist or psychologist can assist patients in exploring how they deal with the types of situations, conflicts, and emotions that caused the fugue, allowing them to build better responses to such events and preventing the fugue from reoccurring. The most consistently effective therapy seems to involve removing the patient from dangers, offering psychological support, making low-key suggestions and cues, and "reteaching." In order to establish a secure and productive setting for a stronger therapeutic connection, empathy is more important than skepticism.

Conclusion

At the moment, the identification of severe retrograde Amnesia in the absence of anterograde Amnesia or other cognitive impairments, as well as the lack of a causative brain injury, is required for the diagnosis of dissociative Amnesia with a dissociative fugue. Dissociative Amnesia should involve more than merely failing to recall or report an incident. Instead, it describes a state where traumatic memories have been retained but are temporarily inaccessible for conscious review due to dissociation coping. Some research suggests that traumatic events are typically well-remembered, which makes it difficult to reconcile the notion that psychological trauma might cause memory loss. However, sudden trauma remembering is frequently interpreted as a clear sign that the person has previously suffered from dissociative Amnesia or suppressed memory, particularly if the recollections are connected to a traumatic upbringing. It may be argued that such an interpretation touches on the controversy surrounding the existence of suppressed memory.