Blogpost #2

In society people have come to develop their own body image, a physical appearance that one desires to fulfill. Many people have started to develop a corrupted body image that brings harm to themselves. BIID, or body integrity identity disorder, is a mental illness that has started to rise up in society. BIID causes people to envision a body image where one of their limbs is no longer there, creating an almost irrefutable desire to become disabled. Those who suffer from BIID describe it as a “mental torture,” and are completely unaware of what fuels the desire to get rid of one’s limbs. People who are under the influence of this mental desire have found no other solution than to find a way to get rid of the limb, claiming that no form of psychotherapy or medication is able to help them. Since there is no legal recourse to fulfilling this strange desire, people under the influence of BIID have taken matters into their own hands. In my opinion there should be some sort of legal recourse for those with BIID, such as a medical procedure to remove the desired limb. I believe that there should be a legal recourse because many people with BIID try to amputate themselves, and end up either seriously injuring themselves or dead. Others have paid 10,000 dollars for an illegal operation to get themselves amputated, and one of them has even died from gangrene. Dr. Michael First, a professor of clinical psychology at Colombia University, has conducted research in order to gain an understanding of BIID.  After conducting research on 52 BIID patients, and was able to make a couple of observations. First found that people who suffer from BIID do not possess a psychotic mentality, and have a complete grasp on reality. Other researchers have made the observation that many of the people who suffer from BIID are middle class white males, but in my own personal opinion I don’t think that characteristic has much influence over the disease. It seems to merely a coincidence that a large majority of the BIID population are middle class white males, however, they do have the interesting view that the disorder can’t be treated with medication for therapy. Though it is possible that the BIID can’t be treated with therapy, I do believe that medication could be a possible solution. Medication may not be a solution now, but considering the fact that BIID is a disease I believe there is the possibility of a medical advancement towards a cure. In regard to my opinion of people who “choose” to be disabled there is not much animosity. I understand that people with BIID do not desire the need to be disabled under their own free will, rather it’s an unknown coercive force caused by a corruption in the brain. It may have be a concern that those who are already disabled will see those with BIID as offensive. Senior vice president at the National Organization of Disability, Nancy Starnes, claims that BIID “would be treated the same way anybody with a mental health problem would be treated.” (Ellison) Overall, BIID is a serious condition and deserves further research towards a cure.