Because dissociative fugue is a subtype of dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue treatment often overlaps with its parent condition. One of the main commonalities in treating dissociative fugue is to address underlying stressors that potentially caused the fugue state. Psychotherapy
What are the treatments for dissociative fugue?
One of the main commonalities in treating dissociative fugue is to address underlying stressors that potentially caused the fugue state. One of the most common treatments for dissociative fugue includes different forms of psychotherapy.
What causes a dissociative fugue?
Dissociative fugues are most likely to happen because of two conditions, dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder. Dissociative amnesia is a type of memory loss where a person can’t access certain memories. This usually happens because of one or more severely traumatic events.
How long does dissociative fugue last?
A dissociative fugue may last only a few hours. The person undergoing it may seem to be confused and forgetful to others during that time, but they’ll return to normal afterward. In cases with such a short duration, the dissociative fugue might even go unnoticed by others.
Does hypnosis work for dissociative fugue?
Hypnosis is a technique that can be employed for dissociative amnesia and dissociative fugue. However, hypnosis treatment for dissociative disorders may not always be an effective means of restoring memories while in an amnestic or fugue state.
What is the treatment for dissociative fugue?
Dissociative identity disorder: When this condition is behind a dissociative fugue, the treatment usually involves therapy to help the personalities merge and rejoin the person who has them. It can also involve treatment and medication for other symptoms like depression or anxiety.
What is the goal of treatment in dissociative disorders?
Treatment of dissociative disorders usually consists of psychotherapy, with the goal of helping the person integrate different identities, and to gain control over the dissociative process and symptoms.
How does fugue affect people with dissociative disorder?
Most people with dissociative fugue will regain most or all of their memories. The memories may return quickly and all at once or gradually over a longer period of time. However, in some cases, people aren't able to recover their memories completely. Dissociative amnesia.
What treatment approach is often used in cases of dissociative amnesia and fugue?
Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is often the first line of treatment due to few reported side effects compared to drug treatments. Psychotherapy has been used to treat those with several types of dissociative amnesic disorders, including dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue.
What is the best treatment for dissociative disorder?
Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is the primary treatment for dissociative disorders. This form of therapy, also known as talk therapy, counseling or psychosocial therapy, involves talking about your disorder and related issues with a mental health professional.
Why is psychotherapy effective for dissociative identity disorder?
Talk therapy has been shown to improve symptoms of DID in the long term. Your therapist can help you understand what you're experiencing and why. Therapy also gives you the space to explore and understand the different parts of your identity that have dissociated, and ultimately, to integrate them.
What happens during a fugue state?
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.
Can dissociative fugue be cured?
Most dissociative fugues are brief, lasting from less than a day to several months. Often, the disorder goes away on its own. The outlook, therefore, is quite good. However, without treatment to work out the underlying problem, additional fugue episodes can occur.
Which technique is used in patients with dissociative amnesia to help them recover memories?
Hypnosis. This modality is especially useful in the reenactment of stressful or traumatic situations causing dissociative amnesia and dissociative fugue with memory loss. Hypnosis is best utilized to explore the events that precipitated the fugue or amnesia.
What are the three steps in the treatment for dissociative identity disorder?
The most common course of treatment consists of three stages:Establishing safety, stabilization, and symptom reduction. ... Confronting, working through, and integrating traumatic memories. ... Integration and rehabilitation.
What is the treatment for dissociative fugue?
One of the most common treatments for dissociative fugue includes different forms of psychotherapy . In simple terms, psychotherapy is known as talk therapy and is a space where individuals discuss their thoughts, feelings, emotions and anything else that has been on their mind, with their therapist of choice.
How to help someone with a fugue?
Stress Management Techniques. Stress management may be an effective way to help individuals that experienced a fugue state in the recent past. Often times, therapy will include learning different coping skills to deal with stress, anxiety, depression and other co-occurring conditions.
What is the best way to treat fugue state?
A therapist may employ hypnosis techniques, sometimes with the aid of a sedative, in the event that the fugue state was brought about by or included experienced trauma. It is important that therapists not suggest that certain events happened so as to not create false or exaggerated memories in the patient.
How to recover from a fugue?
It is important to remember that managing stress levels can immensely help a person recover from a fugue state. If you or a loved one live with recurrent dissociative fugue episodes and co-occurring addiction, The Recovery Village can help.
Can hypnosis help with fugue?
Hypnosis is a technique that can be employed for dissociative amnesia and dissociative fugue. However, hypnosis for dissociative disorders may not always be an effective means of restoring memories while in an amnestic or fugue state.
Is dissociative fugue a parent condition?
Because dissociative fugue is a subtype of dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue treatment often overlaps with its parent condition. One of the main commonalities in treating dissociative fugue is to address underlying stressors that potentially caused the fugue state.
Is dissociative fugue rare?
Since dissociative fugue is fairly rare, treatment options vary depending on the individual and the specific circumstances of their fugue. In most cases, an individual will not receive treatment during their fugue state but will need treatment once they become aware of their state or memories return of their previous life.
Why do people have dissociative fugue?
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. Other causes may include: extreme feelings of shame or embarrassment. trauma caused by war. trauma caused by an accident.
How long does a dissociative fugue last?
A dissociative fugue may last only a few hours. The person undergoing it may seem to be confused and forgetful to others during that time, but they’ll return to normal afterward. In cases with such a short duration, the dissociative fugue might even go unnoticed by others.
What are the complications of dissociative fugue?
They include: thoughts of suicide. attempting to harm yourself — including cutting, mutilation, etc. anxiety. depression. post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD) personality disorders.
What is the best treatment for dissociative behavior?
cognitive behavioral therapy. meditation and relaxation techniques. music or art therapy. clinical hypnosis. dialectical behavior therapy. Currently, there is no medication known to help dissociative behavior. However, you may be prescribed medications to help other symptoms such as depression or anxiety.
Can dissociative fugue be diagnosed?
There isn’t a specific test that can diagnose dissociative fugue. However, a medical doctor will want to perform a variety of tests to rule out possible illnesses or injuries that might cause memory loss.
Can a genetic link cause dissociative fugue?
There is also a possibility that a genetic link may predispose someone to dissociative fugue.
Is the outlook for a dissociative fugue good?
Outlook. The outlook for someone with dissociative fugue is generally good . The outlook improves the sooner treatment and intervention are started. Most people with dissociative fugue will regain most or all of their memories. The memories may return quickly and all at once or gradually over a longer period of time.
What Is Dissociative Fugue?
Dissociative fugue is a mental disorder characterized by memory loss, loss of identity, and, often, travel to another location. 1,2 It is most commonly seen in people who are dealing with a physical or mental trauma, depression, problems with the legal system, or some other personal difficulty.
What Are the Symptoms?
People who experience a fugue state usually exhibit some of the following behaviors: 1,3,5
Short- and Long-Term Effects
Because of the unexpected travel away from work, home, and friends, dissociative fugue can cause significant distress in many areas of life. People often have trouble at work and with personal relationships, since their employer and family may have no idea where they are until they are found.
How Is Dissociative Fugue Related to Substance Abuse?
The DSM-V states that an episode of dissociative amnesia (of which dissociative fugue is a subtype) cannot be due to the effects of a substance or medication. 4
How Is It Treated?
Most often, fugues are diagnosed after they have occurred. The person usually has to return to their pre-fugue identity and become distressed or confused about who they are and how they came to be in their new environment. 1