P01-402 - Running Towards a Different Life: a Case of Dissociative Fugue

Abstract

The word fugue derives from the Latin word for flight— fugere. Dissociative fugue is a rare condition in which a person suddenly travels far from home or customary place of work, with inability to recall the past. The prevalence of this disorder as been estimated at 0.2%, and fugue behaviors are frequent in persons with dissociative identity disorder. Episodes of dissociative fugue are usually associated with severe stress or trauma, such as war, natural disasters, death of a loved one or unbearable pressures at work or home. Patients show signs of amnesia and have no conscious understanding of the reason for the flight. This is usually accompanied by confusion about personal identity and, in rare cases, partial or complete assumption of a new identity. The travels associated with the condition can last for a few hours or for as long as several months. There are descriptions of patients that have traveled thousands of miles from home while in a state of dissociative fugue. The symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Typically an accurate diagnosis is made only after the fugue is over and the person has been brought to the attention of mental health care providers. The authors present the clinical report of a 55-year-old woman, with no prior psychiatric history, that presented as a case of dissociative fugue related to continuous and intense stress at work.