| Author | Message | ||
     Axel Haakonsen (Axel) Moderator Username: Axel Post Number: 319 Registered: 02-2003 |
This man was found by Norwegian Police on a park bench in Oslo, Norway on May 15, 2003. He is suffering from severe memory loss, and does not know who he is. He was not carrying any identification papers when found. He is belived to be from California, possibly the San Francisco area. He may have been studying at the university in Birmingham, UK. Police estimate him to be approx 20 years of age. If you have any information about this man, contact the Norwegian Police at 011 47 22 66 99 66, or contact the Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco at 415 986 0766. The man is currently being cared for by Norwegian authorities in Oslo. Pictures from Norwegian Police - Axel | ||
| Brian Dickens (Bri) Senior Member Username: Bri Post Number: 696 Registered: 08-2002 |
Bummer. At least he was in Oslo. | ||
| Michael Villanueva (Iron_chef_air) Senior Member Username: Iron_chef_air Post Number: 343 Registered: 02-2002 |
Fugue | ||
| Curtis N (Curtis) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Curtis Post Number: 703 Registered: 05-2002 |
Would that be the same as (in my own words) an event-based amnesia? The definition I pull for fugue is somewhat different, but at the same time applicable. | ||
| Axel Haakonsen (Axel) Moderator Username: Axel Post Number: 327 Registered: 02-2003 |
In the news articles in the norwegian media, they wrote that judging by his physical appearance, he did not appear to have been the victim of anything criminal, or an accident. He was dressed in normal clothes, so he isn't believed to be homeless, either. But the physicians who has examined him does believe that the amnesia is real. Weird, and a bit scary, too. I'm no expert, so I don't know what could cause something like this. - Axel | ||
| Erik Olson (Jon) Senior Member Username: Jon Post Number: 478 Registered: 02-2002 |
Axel, I have lots of contacts back in the Bay Area, can you post the physical link (instead of the DWeb message board) and I'll forward this guy's picture to everyone back there? Cheers, e | ||
| Axel Haakonsen (Axel) Moderator Username: Axel Post Number: 330 Registered: 02-2003 |
http://www.opol.no/opd/inform4.nsf/f6e09f3cb06c4fd8c12568f2003c8cf8/d7e89faace7e 50edc1256d63004760cd That's the page from the norwegian Police. There are additional links to high resolution pictures in the lower right hand corner of that page. - Axel | ||
| Michael Villanueva (Iron_chef_air) Senior Member Username: Iron_chef_air Post Number: 344 Registered: 02-2002 |
Hello Curtis: I never heard the term "event based amnesisa" -- I like it, and there is another DSM-IV term for what you are thinking, but no, this is not likely "event based" in what we in the west would define as specific event (usually highly traumatic) temporally bounded (i.e, rape, walking in on spouse having an orgasm with a lover, seeing your child murdered, etc). Could be, but given his history as reported in the police report, I immediately thought of Dissociative Fugue: Dissociative Fugue One or more episodes of amnesia in which the inability to recall some or all of one's past and either the loss of one's identity or the formation of a new identity occur with sudden, unexpected, purposeful travel away from home. The length of a fugue may range from hours to weeks or months, occasionally longer. During the fugue, the person may appear normal and attract no attention. The person may assume a new name, identity, and domicile and may engage in complex social interactions. However, at some point, confusion about his identity or the return of the original identity may make the person aware of amnesia or cause distress. The prevalence of dissociative fugue has been estimated at 0.2%, but it is much more common in connection with wars, accidents, and natural disasters. Persons with dissociative identity disorder (see below) frequently exhibit fugue behaviors. Etiology Causes are similar to those of dissociative amnesia (see above), with some additional factors. Fugue is often thought to be malingering, because the fugue may remove the person from accountability for his actions, may absolve him of certain responsibilities, or may reduce his exposure to a hazard (such as a dangerous job assignment). Many fugues appear to represent disguised wish fulfillment. For example, a financially distressed executive leaves his hectic life and lives as a farm hand in the country. The fugue may remove the patient from an embarrassing situation or intolerable stress or may be related to issues of rejection or separation. For example, the fugue may say, in effect, "I am not the man who found his wife to be unfaithful." Some fugues appear to protect the person from suicidal or homicidal impulses. Symptoms and Diagnosis The person often has no symptoms or is only mildly confused during the fugue. However, when the fugue ends, depression, discomfort, grief, shame, intense conflict, and suicidal or aggressive impulses may appear--ie, the person must deal with what he fled from. Failure to remember events of the fugue may cause confusion, distress, or even terror. A fugue in progress is rarely recognized. It is suspected when a person seems confused over his identity, puzzled about his past, or confrontational when his new identity or the absence of an identity is challenged. Sometimes the fugue cannot be diagnosed until the person abruptly returns to his prefugue identity and is distressed to find himself in unfamiliar circumstances. The diagnosis is usually made retroactively based on the history with documentation of the circumstances before travel, the travel itself, and the establishment of an alternate life. Although dissociative fugue can recur, patients with frequent apparent fugues usually have dissociative identity disorder (see below). Prognosis and Treatment Most fugues are brief and self-limited. Unless behavior has occurred before or during the fugue that has its own complications, impairment is usually mild and short-lived. If the fugue was prolonged and complications due to behavior before or during the fugue are significant, the person may have considerable difficulties--eg, a soldier may be charged as a deserter, and a person who marries may have inadvertently become a bigamist. In the rare case in which the person is still in the fugue, recovering information (possibly with help from law enforcement and social services personnel) about his true identity, figuring out why it was abandoned, and facilitating its restoration are important. Treatment involves methods used for dissociative amnesia (see above), such as hypnosis or drug-facilitated interviews. However, efforts to restore memory of the fugue period are often unsuccessful. A psychiatrist may help the person explore inner and interpersonal patterns of handling the types of situations, conflicts, and moods that precipitated the fugue to prevent subsequent fugue behavior. [Sorry for the cut and paste: I could not get the drug company Merck's page to load... (http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section15/chapter188/188c.htm)] When I did clinical work in the Bay Area I saw instances of DS as well as pure psychotic breaks -- all involving folks of -- for lack of a better term -- Asian descent. Once we got translators involved, it seemed to us the amazing, and I mean amzing family pressure put on some students to succeed with the pressures of being in a completely new culture resulted in break downs, suicides, and true fugues. But that is all conjecture. | ||
| Curtis N (Curtis) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Curtis Post Number: 721 Registered: 05-2002 |
Mike, Thanks for the clarification. I can see how you came by that quick conclusion. It is interesting that you metion pressures on young men to perform in school as being a cause a fugue. This might explain why we see so many housewives in SLC who have 7 kids and seem like they know not where they are  Anyways - sad condition and I hope that they find out who he is and where he needs to go. Curtis |
