Cutting Desires

The idea of someone choosing to amputate their limbs to feel complete or achieve satisfaction is completely insane. BIID is one of those disorders that I couldn’t even fathom because it is so hard to believe that it even exists. In the article, Jesse Ellison defined BIID as “an exceedingly rare condition characterized by an overwhelming desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs or become paraplegic” (Cutting Desire). I believe that the people who suffer from this disorder needs to get extensive treatment and help because in the definition, they want to remove a healthy limb! The limb that they have is perfectly functional and it is not life- threatening like how it would be if it weren’t removed after an accident. Humans have evolved to the point where their bodies would help them survive and would be able to do day-to-day activity very easily. By removing their limbs, they would severely disadvantaged let alone disabled. Something as simple as tying their own shoes would be a challenge. However, what shocked me was how far some of the BIID sufferers went to achieve what they wanted. According to the article, one sufferer froze his leg, another decided to shoot his leg off with a shotgun, and one person died from gangrene travelling to another country to illegally amputate his limb (Cutting Desire). Obviously, the people who suffer from this disorder struggle with something a lot more than wanting their limbs removed. One suffer named Alex says, “We’re all trying to figure out how we got it and how to get rid of it. It’s a mental torture. And the only way to get rid of it is by getting the surgery” (Cutting Desire). Alex speaks for the majority of the BIID sufferers that they don’t feel who they are with their limbs. BIID sufferers feel like they aren’t meant to be born with an arm or a leg. This kind of feeling and mentality would concern or confuse most people who do not suffer from this disorder. I myself would even put myself in this category. They want to remove something so useful that most amputees would want to have back. However, since I do not suffer from this condition, I cannot make an accurate assumption on how it must feel to have BIID. I am assuming that these people struggle with identifying themselves of who they are rather than who they feel like they were meant to be. It must feel awful to live everyday with something that they can’t stand the sight of, especially when it is connected to their own body. The worst part is that the only way to achieve satisfaction is to actually amputate their limb, which is extremely painful and permanent. If down the line, a BIID sufferer realized that is was a mistake amputating their limb, they cannot go back. I personally believe that BIID sufferers should receive extensive treatment and therapy. If it gets to a point where they still can’t stand the sight of their limb and decides to take matters into their own hands, they should seek professional assistance in removing the limb. The last thing we want is a human being dying from trying to remove their limbs because no one would help them.