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Mental Health and Dissociative Fugue


Dissociative disorders are mental illnesses that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, conscious awareness, identity, and/or perception. When one or more of these functions is disrupted, symptoms can result. These symptoms can interfere with a person's general functioning, including social and work activities, and relationships.

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What Are the Symptoms of Dissociative Fugue?

A fugue in progress often is difficult for others to recognize because the person's outward behavior appears normal. Symptoms of dissociative fugue might include the following:

  • Sudden and unplanned travel away from home
  • Inability to recall past events or important information from the person's life
  • Extreme distress and problems with daily functioning (due to the fugue episodes)

What Causes Dissociative Fugue?

Dissociative fugue has been linked to severe stress, which might be the result of traumatic events -- such as war, abuse, accidents, disasters, or extreme violence -- that the person has experienced or witnessed. The use or abuse of alcohol and certain drugs also can cause fugue-like states, such as alcohol-induced "blackouts."

How Common Is Dissociative Fugue?

Dissociative fugue is relatively rare. The frequency of dissociative fugue tends to increase during stressful or traumatic periods, such as during wartime or after a natural disaster.

How Is Dissociative Fugue Diagnosed?

If symptoms of dissociative fugue are present, the doctor will often begin an evaluation by performing a complete medical history and physical exam. Although there are no lab tests to specifically diagnose dissociative disorders, the doctor might sometimes recommend various diagnostic tests, such as neuroimaging studies, electroencephalograms (EEGs), and blood tests, to rule out physical illness or medication side effects if these are suspected as causing the symptoms. Certain conditions -- including brain diseases (such as epilepsy), head injuries, drug and alcohol intoxication, and sleep deprivation -- can lead to symptoms similar to those of dissociative disorders, including amnesia (loss of memory).


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