Mental disorders, whatever form they take, have a significant impact on the individual. People suffering from such pathologies are not able to adapt to the regularly changing conditions of reality, and also adequately deal with everyday problems.
One of the types of mental disorders that has a direct effect on the actions and behavior of a person is a dissociative fugue.
The essence of the problem and the peculiarities of the
state The term "dissociative fugue" refers to a mental disorder that manifests itself in unexpected actions performed by a patient.
At the same time, the latter loses the notion of himself as a person and, performing uncharacteristic actions for him, does not realize that significant changes are taking place in his life. Along with this, the intellect of the patient does not suffer.
The condition of a fugue is described as one or more episodes of amnesia following one after another, in which case the patient is unable to recall all of its past or a significant part of it. After a while, memory comes back to him, after which he forgets everything he did during the fugue period.
The classic picture of this phenomenon, indicative of a mental disorder of personality, is characterized by a sudden journey, departure from home, which is usually preceded by no psychotraumatic events. A person does not plan a trip, does not talk about it in advance.
In the period of psychophagia, he comes up with a new life and behaves like a completely different personality. At the same time, the patient can engage in some kind of activity, take part in social life, without doing any actions that could attract attention. Outbreaks of anger are extremely rare.
The duration of the dissociative fugue, in most cases, does not exceed a few hours or days, but it can take a few months.
Causes that affect the development of the
disorder Specialists identify the following factors, which can lead to the development of a fugue state:
- being in an extreme strain, strong feelings and anxiety - all this negatively affects the human psyche, it develops a strong desire to escape fromsituation, and the psyche responds to this need in this way;
- is often the beginning of the frustration can serve as an immediate threat to physical existence( military actions, environmental and other kinds of disasters), as well as the loss of a loved one;
- probability of severing relations with a loved one;
- problems at work, distress due to lack of money;
- problems in the social sphere: insulting the person, tensions in the family.
In some cases, dissociative amnesia acts as a protective mechanism in response to suicidal thoughts of a person.
The risk of developing such a disorder grows if the patient suffers from chronic alcoholism, has phobias, is hypersensitive to everything that happens to him. At risk are also those who have had multiple dissociative personality disorders.
Features of the behavior of the patient
The disorder in all cases begins suddenly and sharply. According to observations, the beginning of the fugue occurs in the morning. A person wakes up, 
collects things and leaves, not saying goodbye to anyone. At that moment, the "new self" controls the personality, memories of the former life do not remain.
After moving, a person begins to live a new life, his behavior does not indicate aggression, anger, and there are no suicidal tendencies. He does not want to hurt or hurt anyone.
During the period of being in a state of dissociative fugue, the patient builds a completely new life, changing not only the circle of communication, but also choosing a completely different type of professional activity.
The way out of this state, like the beginning of the psychophagus, is acute, sudden. On the eve of "enlightenment" a person feels that something strange is happening, not corresponding to reality. The exit comes after awakening: the patient, waking up in an unfamiliar place, is lost, feels a shock, because everything that happened to him during the amnesia, he forgets, as earlier forgot his real life.
If the period of oblivion was short-lived, then the return of the person to his real life will not be too painful, but if the amnesia was long, the patients for a long time can not reconcile themselves with the return and adapt to the changes that have occurred during their absence.
Diagnosis and treatment approach
Difficulties in diagnosing the disorder arise because "fugists" rarely seek help from psychotherapists and psychiatrists. Nevertheless, there are two signs that make it possible to diagnose such a disorder:
- leaving home at the beginning of the amnestic period;
- complete or partial loss of memories of the first person.
To reconcile a person with reality and return it to the present - the tasks of restorative therapy. She suggests the following:
- psychiatrist assistance in conjunction with a psychologist, specialists help a person overcome a factor that has traumatized impact on him and provoked amnesia. The insults and disappointments that arose after a long fugue should also be discussed with a psychiatrist;
- conducting hypnosis sessions;
- teaching the patient to the methods of relaxation and ways to relieve acute stress;
- patient support and understanding from relatives and friends;
- reception of tranquilizers and antidepressants in case of expressed anxiety of the patient.
This kind of psycho-disorder has a favorable outlook. In case of adequate therapy and patient compliance with all the recommendations of a specialist, as well as in the absence of other mental disorders, a full recovery occurs.
If the traumatic factor is too pronounced, a person may experience residual effects in the form of memory failures and stressful situations. To return the patient to real life, significant efforts should be made not only to the psychologist, but also to the family of the person who has suffered temporary amnesia - only staying in an environment of benevolence, care and trust, he is able to recover.
