Cutting Desire

         BIID sounds like a disorder that is very serious and should not be taken lightly. Since this Is a mental disorder, physical treatments probably wouldn’t be affective in the long run. This Disorder is one illness that seems incurable because of the sociological background of the person who has it. As I was reading the article, I realized that the people with this illness are not insane because they are mentally and physically aware of what they are doing. Within the article, it was made clear that “Psychotherapy doesn’t work. Psychiatry doesn’t work. Medication doesn’t work” (Ellison).  Since these treatments were ineffective, I would take a different approach. If it was me, I would show the people affected by BIID videos of amputees struggling to do everyday activities. They would be shown separated from the rest of society even more than they were before. The article mentioned that some of the people who have this illness is transgender persons. They are already in most place alienated from society, so this would just add to the societal divisions.

          This type of disorder has been around for decades, all the way back to the 1970s. The BIID patients were talked about in the article and the author explained that “They are most often white middle-aged males who refute the idea that the disorder can be treated like a mental illness with talk therapy and medication”. I don’t think that this statement is true because many different possibilities have to be taken into consideration. Anyone can be stubborn to something that they do not believe in, no matter the race. Also, location is a huge factor. They could have go that statistic from a place where it is white is dominant.

          Most people in todays society are able to do everyday activities on their own without any help from other people that are around them. However, some people are not that lucky to have such a luxury. People like war veterans had to get some of their limbs amputated because it was necessary to their own survival. With that being said, my honest reaction to people wanting to get their limbs amputated is a form of disgust. People with BIID say “You have made me the happiest of all men by taking away from me a limb” (Ellison). They do not realize that their way of living with never be the same again. Imagine waking up in the morning and not being able to bathe yourself. Imagine someone having to be there with you during your daily activities because of the high risk of you injuring yourself. This person’s independence is gone forever. There are people in the world that wish that they have all of their limbs, and BIID patients are just be ridding of them without any remorse.