Thursday, October 1, 2015

The shocking disorder that made this woman blind herself with drain cleaner

*** EXCLUSIVE - VIDEO AVAILABLE *** RALEIGH, NC - AUGUST 12: Jewel Shuping at the park on August 12, 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina. FOR most people becoming blind would be a living nightmare - but for¿Jewel Shuping¿it was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.¿Jewel, 30, from North Carolina, USA, has Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), a condition in which able-bodied people believe they are meant to be disabled.¿Her need to lose her sight was so strong that in¿2006 she decided to blind herself¿- by having a sympathetic psychologist pour DRAIN CLEANER into her eyes.¿As a young child she would spend hours staring at the sun in a¿bid to¿damage her eyes, acquiring¿her first white cane aged 18 and¿becoming fully fluent in braille by the age of 20. Tired of being¿secretive¿due to the stigma surrounding the condition,¿Jewel is¿now sharing her story to help raise public awareness of BIID and to encourage people with the condition to seek professional help. PHOTOGRAPH BY Ruaridh Connellan / Barcroft Media UK Office, London. T +44 845 370 2233 W www.barcroftmedia.com USA Office, New York City. T +1 212 796 2458 W www.barcroftusa.com Indian Office, Delhi. T +91 11 4053 2429 W www.barcroftindia.com

Nine years ago, Jewel Shuping was blinded after drain cleaner was poured into her eyes. But, it wasn’t an accident.

Because Jewel, now 30, from North Carolina, suffers from Body Integrity Identity Disorder 

(BIID), a rare condition sometimes also referred to as amputee identity disorder, where people actually want to be disabled.

BIID more commonly manifests itself in a desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs, with sufferers saying they feel as though their limbs don’t belong to them.

Jewel’s desire to be blind was so strong she chose to take drastic action – helped by a sympathetic psychologist who poured the drain cleaner into her eyes.

*** EXCLUSIVE - VIDEO AVAILABLE *** UNSPECIFIED - UNDATED: Collect picture of Jewel Shuping aged 1. FOR most people becoming blind would be a living nightmare - but for¿Jewel Shuping¿it was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.¿Jewel, 30, from North Carolina, USA, has Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), a condition in which able-bodied people believe they are meant to be disabled.¿Her need to lose her sight was so strong that in¿2006 she decided to blind herself¿- by having a sympathetic psychologist pour DRAIN CLEANER into her eyes.¿As a young child she would spend hours staring at the sun in a¿bid to¿damage her eyes, acquiring¿her first white cane aged 18 and¿becoming fully fluent in braille by the age of 20. Tired of being¿secretive¿due to the stigma surrounding the condition,¿Jewel is¿now sharing her story to help raise public awareness of BIID and to encourage people with the condition to seek professional help. PHOTOGRAPH BY Barcroft Media UK Office, London. T +44 845 370 2233 W www.barcroftmedia.com USA Office, New York City. T +1 212 796 2458 W www.barcroftusa.com Indian Office, Delhi. T +91 11 4053 2429 W www.barcroftindia.com

It was the fulfillment of a life-long dream. As a child, she would pretend to be blind. She also wore dark glasses, used a white cane and became fluent in Braille by the age of 20.
My mother would find me walking in the halls at night, when I was three or four years old,’ she explains. ‘By the time I was six I remember that thinking about being blind made me feel comfortable.’

*** EXCLUSIVE - VIDEO AVAILABLE *** UNSPECIFIED - UNDATED: Collect picture of Jewel Shuping aged 16 with her baritone. FOR most people becoming blind would be a living nightmare - but for¿Jewel Shuping¿it was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.¿Jewel, 30, from North Carolina, USA, has Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), a condition in which able-bodied people believe they are meant to be disabled.¿Her need to lose her sight was so strong that in¿2006 she decided to blind herself¿- by having a sympathetic psychologist pour DRAIN CLEANER into her eyes.¿As a young child she would spend hours staring at the sun in a¿bid to¿damage her eyes, acquiring¿her first white cane aged 18 and¿becoming fully fluent in braille by the age of 20. Tired of being¿secretive¿due to the stigma surrounding the condition,¿Jewel is¿now sharing her story to help raise public awareness of BIID and to encourage people with the condition to seek professional help. PHOTOGRAPH BY Barcroft Media UK Office, London. T +44 845 370 2233 W www.barcroftmedia.com USA Office, New York City. T +1 212 796 2458 W www.barcroftusa.com Indian Office, Delhi. T +91 11 4053 2429 W www.barcroftindia.com


She says: ‘I was ‘blind-simming’, which is pretending to be blind, but the idea kept coming up in my head and by the time I was 21 it was a non-stop alarm that was going off.’

She finally found a psychologist in Canada willing to help her. They first poured numbing drops into her eyes, followed by a couple of drops of drain cleaner. It was, Jewel admits ‘extremely painful’.

It is not known whether the psychologist has faced prosecution for helping her, but medics at a nearby hospital later attempted to save her sight, against her wishes.

To no avail – and to Jewel’s relief.


‘When I had my sight I didn’t feel right. I feel bad for people who’re blind and aren’t happy, but this is what I want,’ she says. ‘I really feel this is the way I was supposed to be born, that I should have been blind from birth.’

She argues: ‘This is not a choice, it’s a need based on a disorder of the brain.’

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