The man who sawed his arm off: Research studies people who only ‘feel’ disabled
It’s a condition that has driven people to self-amputate limbs and, in extreme cases, commit suicide.
For those who have body integrity identity disorder (BIID), the theory is that the brain’s mental map doesn’t align with the physical body, said Clive Baldwin, a professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B.
Someone with BIID, for example, may feel their right leg should end above their knee, when physically they have a fully functioning leg.
Baldwin, the Canada Research Chair in narrative studies and a professor of social work at the university, has been interviewing people with BIID in the hopes of learning more about their lives and drawing more attention to the little-known condition.