Amnesia and Fugue

Type of psychology: Psychopathology

Field of study: Coping

Key concepts

• behavioral explanation

• continuous amnesia

• dissociation

• dissociative disorders

• generalized amnesia

• localized amnesia

• psychodynamic explanation

• psychogenic amnesia

• selective amnesia

Amnesia involves the failure to recall a past experience because of an anxiety

that is associated with the situation. Fugue states take place when a person

retreats from life’s difficulties by entering an amnesic state and leaving

familiar surroundings. During a fugue state, a person may assume a new partial

or whole personality. Although amnesia may be caused by organic brain

pathology, attempts to cope with anxiety can produce amnesia and fugue.

The concept of dissociation refers to the ability of the human mind to split

from conscious awareness. Through dissociation, a person can avoid anxiety

and difficulty in managing life stresses. When stress and anxiety overwhelm

a person, the mind may split from a conscious awareness of the troubling situations.

When this takes place, the individual automatically loses memory of

the event and may physically leave the stressful situation through a fugue

state.

Amnesia and fugue are two of the dissociative disorders recognized by

the American Psychiatric Association. The dissociative disorders are methods

of avoiding anxiety through the process of pathological dissociation. In

addition to amnesia and fugue, the dissociative disorders include dissociative

identity disorder and depersonalization disorder. In the former, a

person develops a number of alter identities. This disorder was previously

called multiple personality disorder. Depersonalization disorder involves a

process in which individuals suddenly feel that their bodies or senses of self

have changed dramatically.