Topic > Understanding Dissociative Fugue Disorder and Its Management

“Last September, Jeff Ingram, 40, drove from his home in Olympia, Washington, to visit a terminally ill friend in Alberta. Four days later, he woke up on a street in Denver…” (William Lee Adams). What happened to Jeff Ingram is that he forgot his identity for four days and wandered the streets looking for an answer, then he woke up and remembered his past. This is called Dissociative Fugue, a mental sub-disorder of Dissociative Amnesia. The symptoms of dissociative fugue are easy to spot if you know what it is, and the treatment is important to know if you know someone with dissociative fugue and want to help. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Dissociative fugue is a disorder that confuses both the victim and his family, so knowing about the disorder is crucial so that he or she can understand the symptoms and the treatment used for it. Dissociative fugue is a rare disorder with phases of amnesia, which includes victims forgetting who they are and their loved ones. They often enter a state of amnesia many times throughout their lives. They have forgotten the time when they were in a state of amnesia when remembering their past life, making studying difficult. Those in a Fugue state are still neurologically intact. Rather than brain injury, it is triggered by stress, which can sometimes be related to other disorders such as depression or anxiety. While in the Fugue state, they unconsciously escape from these stressful situations, which may include turmoil, work, school, a sick friend, relationships, or war. This trance state lasts from hours to years, sometimes they forget some parts of their past even after regaining their memory. During this time, people with Dissociative Fugue travel to find answers, traveling an average of 750 miles. Understanding dissociative fugue is critical to identifying symptoms of the disorder, since it is so rare and spontaneous. Dissociative fugue is difficult to identify compared to other disorders, but some important indicators can help identify the disorder. One symptom is that victims are unable to recall important memories prior to the Fugue state, or to identify themselves. They will not be able to identify loved or significant beings in their life. Another symptom is that they can't remember how they got to where they were, so a question like "how did you get to Denver" might help identify if someone has. This often leads them to commit vehicle thefts and credit card thefts. People often pretend to have Dissociative Fugue, going to the hospital pretending not to know who they are or pretending they just went through a phase. Doctors can distinguish fakes from real victims by asking questions, and fakes often exaggerate their difficulties and other information while people suffering from the disorder will be confused and unsure. Identifying dissociative fugue isn't difficult once you know the right questions to ask. There is no standard treatment for dissociative fugue, but there is a recovery process for the few convicted of this disorder. One step of recovery is removing the person from stressful situations in their life. This may include individual therapy so they can work through the problems so they don't happen again. Often, the situations that make them so stressed are caused by their own thoughts and behaviors. This is why cognitive behavioral therapy can help change the behavior and thoughts of the victim that is causing their pain. A person with the disorder has tattooed his information on the.