How Support Can Reduce Harm

There is a lot of misunderstanding and stigmatization surrounding BID. This stigma can prevent someone from taking steps to relieve their dysphoria safely out of fear of harassment.

Support and simulating

Simulating is an excellent way to reduce dysphoria and calm an urgent need to act on their BID, but it is rare to have a safe environment to do it in. Be it at home or work showing support can help a BID sufferer feel comfortable in siming around you.

Support and medical treatment

The medical field is largely dismissive of BID despite a lack of understanding. This dismissiveness leads to a lack of effective care. Psychiatric treatments made available to those with BID largely only attempt to treat the intrusive thoughts related to the desire to pursue a need with OCD medication, and does not effectively reduce dysphoria. Better support can lead to a more effective psychiatric treatment.

But what about people who have decided to pursue their need, should a doctor assist them? A BID sufferer who has decided to act will do so with or without a doctors assistance. But without a doctors assistance attempts will be more dangerous, less reversible, and lead to worse end results.

Unassisted attempts rarely have access to sterile environments leading to risks of infection, and attempts at amputation can easily lead to death. These attempts will also be less controlled and more likely to cause physical pain after achieving the desired outcome.

When a person attempts, it is with intent to do enough damage to force a doctor to act, but with coordinated medical care less invasive, more reversible, treatments become available. A person with blindness or eye related BID could receive tarsorrhaphy, the process of sewing an eye shut. Those with certain kinds of paralyzing BIDs could receive spinal cord stimulator implants to achieve spastic paralysis. And while not reversible, those with amputory BIDs could work with a healthcare system to donate their un-desired limbs to those seeking limb transplants.