What is Dissociative Fugue Disorder and How Does it Link to Complex PTSD?

A fugue state is a temporary state where a person has memory loss (amnesia) and can end up in an unexpected place with no memory of how they got there. They may appear confused about who they are, and where they are going and in some cases may not remember anything from their life before this fugue state occurs.

Dissociation is a ‘splitting of the self’, as though a part of a person gets cut off and pushed to the side. It is almost always a Trauma response and a ‘Protective Trauma response’ at that. The brain is exceptionally clever at protecting our sense of self and so, if a trauma occurs that would be too destabilizing for a person to remember, the brain dissociates. This is exceptionally common for sufferers of Complex PTSD, though there is a wide range of phenomena when it comes to dissociation.

Imagine dissociation is on a continuum, at one end you have the ‘auto-pilot’ drive to work, and way at the other end of the spectrum you have DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder AKA Multiple Personality Disorder). There are so many variations and levels of dissociation in between. Some people may experience the feeling of ‘looking at their life from the outside in’, others may feel as though they are moving in slow motion.

You have Depersonalisation and Derealisation on that scale. Derealisation is where you feel the world around is unreal, as though you are in the Matrix except, like the main character, you are the only one awake. Depersonalization is where you have the feeling of being outside yourself and observing your actions, feelings, or thoughts from a distance; it’s described as more of an ‘out of body experience’.

Dissociation is, in essence, a detachment from the self due to high stress and it is prevalent within CPTSD.

Dissociative amnesia is when a person simply cannot remember things. Whether that is certain parts of their life, their name, the trauma they have endured, or a specific day. It’s as though someone has hijacked their brain for a time, again it’s a protective inter-psychic coping mechanism. Again, unfortunately, this is also widespread among those who suffer from CPTSD.

According to professionals, Dissociative Fugue is not usually associated with a singular trauma (PTSD), it is almost universally synced with Complex Trauma and a reaction to a triggering event. It’s an extreme response and extraordinarily rare, so rare that most Mental Health professionals have never even consulted on a case.

If you are losing time, more so than you may normally with the ‘normative’ dissociation and you are finding yourself in random places it is worth discussing DFD with your General Practitioner, Psychiatrist, or a trusted person involved in your primary care.

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/dissociative-disorders/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/22836-dissociative-fugue

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About Me:- Who am I?

Well, first off what does that even mean? How do I answer that? As a human being I am always growing and developing, we are not human-dones now are we? Who I am today is technically, a little more than who I was yesterday and a little less than I will be tomorrow.

For the ‘traditionalists’ … I’m from the South of the UK. I have a Law Degree, almost finished with my Counselling and Psychology degree and I work with teenagers as a progression mentor, a large number of whom suffer with challenging behaviour, mental health conditions and physical impairments. I have a published book called ‘Maybe it’s just a thing…’ and I used to teach music privately, having retired from performing on stage.