Amputation Identity
The desire to be an amputee is the most common and most studied expression of Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID). For most people with this identity, it is not a vague wish - it is a precise and persistent sense that a specific limb does not belong to their body. There is an internal "line" where the body should end, and that line does not move.
If you have felt this way for years, possibly your entire life, and you are only now finding words for it - you have found your community. This page and the BID forum exist specifically for people like you.
The Amputation Identity Experience
For many with amputation identity, the target limb is experienced not as a part of their body but as an intrusion - something attached that does not belong. This is distinct from disliking a limb for aesthetic reasons. The experience is neurological: research into BID consistently implicates the right superior parietal lobule, the brain region responsible for constructing the body schema. The body map, quite literally, does not include that limb.
Common features of amputation identity include: a clearly defined target (above-knee, below-knee, an arm, a specific hand), physical discomfort when the target limb is visible or in use, a sense of relief or rightness when the limb is hidden or temporarily immobilized, and a long-standing awareness that this is not a passing feeling.
Simulation (Simming) and Pretending
Simulation - using bandaging, prosthetics, crutches, or wheelchairs to spend time presenting as an amputee - is one of the most widely discussed coping strategies in the community. For many people, simming provides significant temporary relief from dysphoric intensity, essentially allowing the body to match the internal image for a period of time.
The community term "pretender" describes someone who regularly simulates their target disability in day-to-day life. There is no shame in this term here. Discussions about safe simming practices, managing public situations, and the emotional aftermath of simulation are all welcome in the Pretending room.
Managing Dysphoric Intensity
The intensity of amputation identity is not constant. The community has developed a framework called The Wave to describe its cyclical nature - periods of acute obsession and desperation (Top) followed by periods of relative quiet (Bottom). Understanding where you are in the cycle, and what tends to trigger escalation, is one of the most practical tools for living well with BID.
When intensity is high, connection with others who understand the experience is one of the most effective stabilizers. That is what this forum is for.
Surgical Paths
A small number of people with BID pursue surgical amputation. This is a deeply personal decision with significant medical, ethical, and practical complexity. The community does not prescribe any path - surgical or not. What it does offer is honest, non-judgmental discussion from people who have navigated the full range of options, and peer support regardless of what you decide.
Discussions about the medical establishment, surgery access, and the post-surgical experience are ongoing in the BID room.
Sources & Further Reading
- World Health Organization, ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics — search "Body integrity dysphoria" (code 6C21).
- First, M.B. (2005). "Desire for amputation of a limb: paraphilia, psychosis, or a new type of identity disorder." Psychological Medicine, 35(6), 919–928. — the paper that proposed BIID as a distinct identity disorder.
- Giummarra, M.J., Bradshaw, J.L., Nicholls, M.E.R., Hilti, L.M., & Brugger, P. (2011). "Body integrity identity disorder: deranged body processing, right fronto-parietal dysfunction, and phenomenological experience of body incongruity." Neuropsychology Review, 21(4), 320–333.
- PubMed: further peer-reviewed literature on body integrity dysphoria →
This list is a starting point for your own reading, not a substitute for a qualified clinician. If you're looking for care, a therapist experienced with body-image and identity conditions is a reasonable place to start.