What does fugue state mean?

Dissociative fugue (psychogenic fugue, or fugue state) presents as sudden, unexpected travel away from one’s home with an inability to recall some or all of one’s past. Onset is sudden, usually following severe psychosocial stressors. This state usually lasts for minutes to days but may be prolonged for months.

What triggers fugue state?

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 happens during fugue state?

The word fugue comes from the Latin word for “flight.” People with dissociative fugue temporarily lose their sense of personal identity and impulsively wander or travel away from their homes or places of work. They often become confused about who they are and might even create new identities.

How long does a fugue state last?

The state can last days, months or longer. Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity.

How do you get out of a fugue state?

Effective treatment practices include removing a person from the threats or stressful situations that may have contributed to the development of a dissociative fugue state. An empathic, supportive approach to psychotherapy will help people who have experienced dissociative fugue, feel safe and open to treatment.

What happens when Dissociative fugue ends?

Symptoms of Dissociative Fugue Some people are frightened. If they are confused, they may come to the attention of medical or legal authorities. After the fugue ends, many people remember their past identity and life up to when the fugue began. However, for others, remembering takes longer and occurs more gradually.

How common is a fugue state?

In addition to confusion about identity, people experiencing a dissociative fugue state may also develop a new identity. Dissociative fugue is a rare condition, with prevalence estimates as low as 0.2 percent in the general population.

How rare is a fugue state?

Dissociative fugue is rare with some estimates being around 0.2 percent of the population. It is more common in adults than in children, and also more common in people already diagnosed with other dissociative disorders.

Why is a fugue called a fugue?

The English term fugue originated in the 16th century and is derived from the French word fugue or the Italian fuga. This in turn comes from Latin, also fuga, which is itself related to both fugere (“to flee”) and fugare (“to chase”). The adjectival form is fugal.

What is Fugue in medical terms?

Medical Definition of fugue : a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect them

What is a fugue state in epilepsy?

fugue state Neurology A state in which the Pt denies memory of activities for a period of hrs to wks; to external appearances these activities were either completely normal or the Pt disappeared and traveled extensively; most are functional; short fugues rarely occur in temporal lobe epilepsy.

What is a fugue state and dissociative fugue?

For the purposes of this article, then, a “fugue state” occurs while one is “acting out” a “dissociative fugue”. The DSM-IV defines “dissociative fugue” as:

What is the cause of Fugue State?

The cause of the fugue state is related to dissociative amnesia, (Code 300.12 of the DSM-IV codes) which has several other subtypes: selective amnesia, generalized amnesia, continuous amnesia, and systematized amnesia, in addition to the subtype “dissociative fugue”.