Dissociative Fugue: A Case Report

A dissociative fugue occurs when an individual with dissociative amnesia wanders away from their familiar surroundings, maintaining self‑care and apparently normal behavior to observers, lasting from hours to months in a row. New identities can be assumed and even organized travel can occur. While d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Valadas, Maria Teresa (author)
Other Authors: Pedro Costa, Ana (author), Bravo, Lucilia (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.51338/rppsm.272
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:ojs.www.revistapsiquiatria.pt:article/272
Description
Summary:A dissociative fugue occurs when an individual with dissociative amnesia wanders away from their familiar surroundings, maintaining self‑care and apparently normal behavior to observers, lasting from hours to months in a row. New identities can be assumed and even organized travel can occur. While dissociative amnesia by itself may have a prevalence of around 7.2%, dissociative fugue is a rare entity, with unknown prevalence, and there are few reports in the literature. In this article, we describe a case of dissociative fugue in a 34‑year old woman that lasted eight months. Dissociative amnesia with fugue remains an interesting topic for further research since it can present a diagnostic challenge, there are currently no evidence‑based pharmacological treatments and prognosis varies greatly between patients.