Body Identity Integrity Disorder.

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This would be up there with one of the weirdest disorders I have heard of

Those people describe this condition of theirs in this way that they feel like their limbs didn’t really belong to them. I thought it would be pretty hysterical if somebody claimed that their own heads didn’t in fact belong to them and demanded removing them as alien entities not fully belonging to their bodies and what's worse, controlling them.

I don't understand this. Why would anyone want to have a missing arm or leg?

I know there are people out there who want to have incontinence and that is in the AB/DL community. It's not something I would want but I guess they don't care for the cons of it.

I am sure there are people out there who would love to have a mental condition. I know there are people out there who like being sick and pretending to be to gain sympathy or attention which they call Munchhausen. I wonder if any of them actually kill themselves by doing it? Since children die from Munchhausen by proxy, I wouldn't be surprised if the Munchausen's die from themselves.

Wait, there are people out there who would love to have mental conditions, factitious disorder they call it. Duh.

Body Integrity Identity Disorder sounds like it might be related to phantom limb syndrome, where the patient experiences that they still have a limb, even though it has been amputated.

Phantom limb syndrome is caused by cross wiring in the somatosensory cortex, leading the patient to "feel" their amputated limb when other parts of their body (such as their face) are stimulated. I wonder if something is going awry in the somatosensory cortexes of patients with BIID, leading them to disassociate from their limbs.

Regardless of where the problem arises, it definitely sounds like it has a neurological origin, and isn't simply caused by an obsession with being handicapped, as was hypothesized by one of the psychologists cited in the article.

Thanks for sharing this.

~ Caterina

I don't think it's that weird, just unusual. Most people have mental images of themselves and conform to fit those images. They change their hair/eye color, get piercings or tattoos(for more permanent examples). I wonder if it should even be considered a mental condition, these people are normal outside of wanting to be disabled, aren't they? Although, maybe it's a reflection of society, the idea that anyone wanting to be disabled is mentally ill. What wrong with being disabled?

Ooo, I like this thread. It's got the wheels in my brain turning...

There could have far less radical version of BIID. I can understand removing toes is common practice. Certainly far more common and going as far as removing a limb which in itself may be the tip of the iceberg. I have heard of women wanting to fit slimmer fit shoes on and getting toes removed so they will get the look. Usually the pinky toes along with the full length of the metatarsus to make to foot a lot slimmer. I do not like the idea but each to their own. I have even heard of penis removals, especially for the gay community.

I have Gender Identity Disorder, and I have the feeling of a phantom penis hanging between my legs. I guess that a penis would qualify as being a very small limb.

I know several people with BIID and know quite a bit about it.

I've seen a couple threads here about it and I've noticed that the replies here are much more accepting and intelligent than in most other sites on the web. More often than not the reactions from the general public is absolutely sickening. I've heard things like "Those people don't even deserve to live!"

I've always thought that as long as they can still take care of themselves and don't go nuts removing everything that they should be allowed to. I don't understand it, at all mind you, I just don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to do it as long as they are sane and have a plan for caring for themselves.

I have often wondered if it's related to restless leg syndrome. It can be so irritating and uncomfortable...

Yeah. I actually agree with these people saying voluntary amputation should be allowed--if there's no good way to get them to experience the problem part as their own, and they're experiencing more distress than they'd experience from the resulting disability and readjustment, then it seems to make a lot of sense to me. But it shouldn't be undertaken lightly.

There's somewhat of an analogue in gender identity disorder--where a person's mental gender is different from their physical one, so that they experience their own bodies as being the wrong shape. It's likely that people with BIID disorder have a mental concept of themselves that simply doesn't include some part, and this causes a similar amount of distress. But just like we make sure people with gender identity disorder go through a lot of therapy before they get any permanent surgery--so they can be sure that this is really what they want, so they can determine exactly which changes they want to make and how. We know now that if a person's gender identity is firmly enough opposite to their physical configuration, you just can't switch their minds back. Thankfully, we have the means to make their bodies match their minds more closely, to alleviate that dysphoria. Changing the body is a reasonable solution; but since it's permanent, it's important to make sure of what you want, so counseling is important. We should be doing the same for people who, for example, experience their hand as not belonging to them. Before any kind of surgery, you'd have to make sure that this is what you want, that you could adjust to life without the hand, that there's no other possible option for you that doesn't involve major surgery.

Doctors are hesitating at removing healthy tissue, and I understand their viewpoint. They believe that being disabled, even through voluntary amputation to improve mental health, must be worse than not. But these people are already disabled by their disorder. It may be tempting to think of a mental disorder as "not as real" as physically missing some part of the body, but most mental disorders cause more suffering than simply having had a limb amputated, even when you take phantom limb pain into account. If it's a doctor's duty to alleviate suffering, and if other options have been tried, this should be a legitimate treatment option. There are many things that are worse than having a simple physical disability. Patients desperate enough to consider amputation even after having tried less drastic options are already disabled by their mental disorder. If surgery will give them peace of mind and allow them to go back to their lives, it's worth it.

I don't think this is even a matter of 'should they be allowed'. They should seek treatment 1st and if treatment doesn't solve the problem they have the right to do as they wish with their own body. This is an issue of natural right, not societal right. If someone wants to amputate a limb they will do it by any means available. It's not that difficult. I would rather they do it with a qualified doctor than do it on their own with some unlicensed scumbag. As a medical professional the only human thing to do is assist them if all other options have failed.