“And if I ever lose my legs, I wont moan, and I wont beg…”

Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), also known as Amputee Identity Disorder is the overwhelming desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs or other parts of the body. Sometimes its sufferers take it upon themselves to amputate their own limbs. Although it most commonly refers to people who wish to amputate limbs, the term BIID also applies to those who wish to alter their bodily integrity in general.

Thanks, Wikipedia. Now, I didn’t exactly just randomly stumble across this – I recently (and by recently I mean two hours ago) watched a movie called Quid Pro Quo which uses BIID for its plot foundation, though I was surprised with how it unraveled; it definitely wasn’t what I thought it would be. Nick Stahl (the Yellow Bastard from Sin City) is in it, in case you were curious.

Despite being a psych major for a while and having taken abnormal psychology, I’ve never heard of BIID before, so naturally I was intrigued. Okay, well maybe I have heard of it, now that I think about it. Anyway, the point is, this shit’s fucked up. 
To help give you a better idea of this disorder, here’s bits and pieces (no pun intended?) of an article I found on ABC News:

-”When these people see an amputee, they see … a person of strength being able to overcome hardship, someone to be admired.” – Dr. Michael First

-Dan, who is intensely physical and loves hiking and skiing, said he had thought of amputating his own leg using dry ice and a power saw. To reduce his anxiety, he sometimes pretends to be an amputee.

For a man remarkably at home in his wheelchair, there is a hint of regret. There are places the wheelchair can’t take him, like to the beach to feel the sand under his feet.
“It’s all those little things, like that,” Karl said. “What the hell was I thinking?”

It’s insane reading about these people who envy amputees and disabled individuals, fantasize about being one themselves, and attempt to (sometimes successfully so) “alleviate” their problem.

How can someone feel incomplete because they’re physically complete? What would drive a person to amputate – or even just to have the desire to amputate – perfectly healthy limbs? Human beings are weird.

Stumped (pun intended),

Betty

Full article: ABC News: What Drives People to Want to Be Amputees?
Image: Screen cap of David Lynch’s, The Amputee, courtesy of Flickr.com