What Is Dissociative Fugue?
4. Causes
Dissociative fugue is strongly associated with sexual abuse and/or assault. People who experience prolonged physical or emotional abuse as a child may develop dissociative fugue, usually as an adult. Being the victim of extreme violence, such as kidnapping or torture, can also cause dissociative fugue. Other traumas that may contribute to the development of the disorder include natural disasters, automobile accidents, and combat experience.
Dissociative fugue may not manifest immediately after the traumatic event. Rather, it may take some sort of trigger to evoke the memories and force the mind to shut down in order to avoid dealing with them. For this reason, even though it is strongly associated with childhood trauma, dissociative fugue more commonly occurs in adults.
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