Body integrity dysphoria

A disorder characterized by an intense and persistent desire to have a physical disability, most commonly the amputation of one or more limbs, or to be paralysed or blind. The desire causes marked distress or impairment and is not better explained by another mental disorder.

Symptoms

• Persistent desire for amputation or disability of a specific body part (also: desire for amputation, wanting to lose a limb, desire to be disabled, BIID, body integrity identity disorder)
• Intense sense that a body part does not belong to oneself (also: alienation from a limb, feeling a limb does not belong, body part feels foreign, limb feels wrong, not recognising own limb)
• Significant distress or functional impairment from the desire (also: distress about desire for amputation, preoccupation with disability, interference with daily life from BIID thoughts, unable to work due to dysphoria)
• Pretending to be disabled (simulating the desired disability) (also: using wheelchair without medical need, binding a limb to simulate amputation, pretending to be blind, simulating paralysis, disability pretending)
• Relief from distress when simulating or imagining the disability (also: relief when imagining being disabled, comfort when pretending to use wheelchair, temporary relief from simulation, emotional relief from disability roleplay)
• Onset typically in childhood or adolescence (also: early onset body integrity dysphoria, childhood onset, lifelong desire for disability, adolescent onset BIID)

Synonyms and related terms

desire for amputation, wanting to lose a limb, desire to be disabled, BIID, body integrity identity disorder, alienation from a limb, feeling a limb does not belong, body part feels foreign, limb feels wrong, not recognising own limb, distress about desire for amputation, preoccupation with disability, interference with daily life from BIID thoughts, unable to work due to dysphoria, using wheelchair without medical need, binding a limb to simulate amputation, pretending to be blind, simulating paralysis, disability pretending, relief when imagining being disabled, comfort when pretending to use wheelchair, temporary relief from simulation, emotional relief from disability roleplay, early onset body integrity dysphoria, childhood onset, lifelong desire for disability, adolescent onset BIID

Frequently asked questions

What are the symptoms of Body integrity dysphoria?

Symptoms associated with Body integrity dysphoria (ICD-11 6C21) include: Persistent desire for amputation or disability of a specific body part, Intense sense that a body part does not belong to oneself, Significant distress or functional impairment from the desire, Pretending to be disabled (simulating the desired disability), Relief from distress when simulating or imagining the disability, Onset typically in childhood or adolescence.

WHO ICD-11 source

View this entry in the official WHO ICD-11 browser: 6C21 – WHO ICD-11