Which scenario demonstrates a dissociative fugue?
A) After being caught in an extramarital affair, a man disappeared but then reappeared months later with no memory of what occurred while he was missing.
B) A man is extremely anxious about his problems and sometimes experiences dazed periods of several minutes passing without conscious awareness of them.
C) A woman finds unfamiliar clothes in her closet, is recognized when she goes to new restaurants, and complains of "blackouts" despite not drinking.
D) A woman reports that when she feels tired or stressed, it seems like her body is not real and is somehow growing smaller.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The patient in a dissociative fugue state relocates and lacks recall of his life before the fugue began. Often fugue states follow traumatic experiences and sometimes involve assuming a new identity. Such persons at some point find themselves in their new surroundings, unable to recall who they are or how they got there. A feeling of detachment from one's body or from the external reality is an indication of depersonalization disorder. Losing track of several minutes when highly anxious is not an indication of a dissociative disorder and is common in states of elevated anxiety. Finding evidence of having bought clothes or gone to restaurants without any explanation for these is suggestive of dissociative identity disorder, particularly when periods are "lost" to the patient (blackouts).

Which Scenario Demonstrates a Dissociative Fugue