Part II, By Mitchell Dolinsky

Part II, by Mitchell Dolinsky


Colby Kirkland: That's a real eye-opener Doctor! So, how can this....."Fugue State” …come about in a man like Jeffrey Ingram? What causes it?

Dr. Sturzendorf: Well there are several etiological theories…that’s what psychologists call the “causes” of disorders…as to why Fugue State can come about. Some believe that Fugues are caused by a person’s willingness to remove him or herself from having to account for potentially stressful actions. A Fugue can release a person from certain responsibilities or from being exposed to dangerous conditions (in a job, for instance) by allowing the person to transport him or herself to another place and mentally forget whatever was troubling him.

Jeffrey Ingram: So are you saying I purposely did this? To have an excuse to get away from all the stress? My friend was dying of cancer!

Dr. Sturzendorf: No, Jeffrey, I’m not doubting your mental illness – it’s very real. The key here, as you said, is stress. Dissociate Fugue episodes are triggered by very stressful events, just like with PTSD. Traumatic experiences like war, natural disasters, or financial troubles can cause the unplanned travel and amnesia characteristics of dissociative fugue. In Jeffrey’s case, it was his friend’s cancer. As you can see, the stress can range from the impersonal to the very personal.

Colby Kirkland: What about Amnesia in general? Are its causes similar to those of Dissociate Fugue?

Dr. Sturzendorf: Well, the etiology of Amnesia can be divided into two categories: the Physiological Causes and the Psychological Causes.

Physiologically-caused Amnesia is called Organic Amnesia. It can happen after head injuries, brain lesions, stroke, substance abuse, carbon monoxide poisoning, malnutrition, electro-convulsive therapy, surgery, and infections. Typically, the memory loss is what is known as antegrade (meaning that events after the trauma are forgotten). Those with organic amnesia usually can remember the distant past well but cannot maintain a grasp on the immediate past.

Amnesia caused psychologically is known as Psychogenic Amnesia. Just like Fugue, the causes can include career-related stress, economic hardship, and emotional distress. Though many experts claim that Amensia has no psychological effects, recent research has revealed that psychological trauma can actually alter the brain physiology, allowing for the interplay of psychological and physiological factors in the etiology of amnesia. Usually Psychogenic Amnesiacs retain general knowledge but not personal knowledge – they may not remember their name but they can speak in an acquired second language. Unlike Organic Amnesia, there is no memory loss.