Dissociative Fugue is an amnesic condition an individual may recoil into in order to avoid extremely distressful situations in real life. Fugue is a French term meaning flight in English and is a defense mechanism in which the affected individual actually flees from the real life stressor in order to escape the feelings of anxiety and distress. This disorder threatens to overtake the coping ability of the individual and can be extremely debilitating. An individual with this disorder deserts his/her personal identity which remains in the consciousness along with memories and other identifiable traits of individuality.

Characteristics of Dissociative Fugue:

Individuals affected by this disorder become amnestic.

They may disappear from their home or work place for days, months or even years after presuming a new identity.

Once out of their fugue states they may find themselves in a completely new situation, with a new name, profession and amid new people.

They are unable to recollect how they got there and have complete amnesia for the fugue states.

They might go on a world tour, settle at a new destination or begin their lives from a scratch.

Individuals with dissociative fugue are often confused about their original identity and their new identity once they are out of the fugue state.

Causes of Dissociative Fugue:

Individuals with this disorder tend to avoid thoughts about extremely traumatic life events and flee from the scene in order to escape from distress.

These individuals constantly wish they were someone else or were in another situation and cannot cope with real life stressful events.

They are unable to recollect threatening information due to an autonomic blockage in the mind known as repression.

In other cases, the individual consciously suppresses the distressing information by avoidant thought patterns and any link to it that may lead to contact with awareness.

Fleeing from the scene which is a constant reminder of the distressing situation is a defense mechanism which these individuals develop in order to escape from their fears.

During a dissociative fugue, an individual appears normal and is able to carry out various tasks efficiently. These individuals normally select a lifestyle that is different from the previous one and reject their earlier lives completely.