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Autoenucleation

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(Redirected from Self-enucleation) Self-inflicted removal of one's own eye
The mythical Oedipus gouged his eyes out.

Autoenucleation, also known as oedipism, is the self-inflicted enucleation (removal) of the eye. It is considered a form of self-mutilation and is normally caused by psychosis, paranoid delusions or drugs. Between 1968 and 2018, there were more than 50 documented cases of "complete or partial self-enucleation in English medical journals". According to a 2012 study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, self-enucleation was previously "considered to be the result of psycho-sexual conflicts" even if psychosis is a more likely cause.

History

A famous case of autoenucleation can be found in Greek mythology: Oedipus, according to Sophocles's tragedy Oedipus Rex, gouged his own eyes out after discovering he had married his mother.

In the 13th century, Marco Polo witnessed a pious Baghdad carpenter who enucleated his right eye for sinful thoughts of a young female customer.

In the 19th century, Jews in the Pale of Settlement in eastern Europe sometimes resorted to self-mutilation, including blinding themselves in one eye, to avoid the Russian empire's onerous regime of military conscription.

On April 1, 2004, Andre Thomas removed his right eye with his bare hands whilst he was in jail awaiting trial for fatally stabbing his estranged wife and her two children. Thomas was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. On December 9, 2008, whilst on death row after being convicted of capital murder, Thomas removed his left eye and ate it. Thomas said he ingested his eye to prevent the federal government of the United States from reading his thoughts.

On February 6, 2018, a 20-year old American, Kaylee Muthart, received national attention after she gouged both her eyes out while high on methamphetamine, believing that "sacrificing her eyes save the world". The incident left Muthart permanently blind, though she later said "I'm happier now than I was before all this happened".

In March 2019, Tanya Suárez removed her own eyes in a San Diego, California, county jail while under the influence of methamphetamine. She sued San Diego county, alleging that a sheriff's deputy watched her from outside her cell door but did nothing; video footage to that effect has reportedly been seen in court, but not released to the public. In October 2022, she settled with the county for $4.35m.

References

  1. NP Jones (1990-09-01). "Self-enucleation and psychosis". The British Journal of Ophthalmology. 74 (9): 571–573. doi:10.1136/bjo.74.9.571. PMC 1042215. PMID 2393650.
  2. Large, Matthew Michael; Nielssen, Olav B. (28 February 2012). "Self-enucleation: forget Freud and Oedipus, it's all about untreated psychosis". British Journal of Ophthamology. 96 (9): 1056–57. doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2012-301531. PMID 22373824 – via BMJ Journals.
  3. Matthew Michael Large, Olav B Nielssen (24 July 2012). "Self-enucleation: forget Freud and Oedipus, it's all about untreated psychosis". British Journal of Ophthalmology. 96 (8): 1056–1057. doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2012-301531. PMID 22373824. S2CID 20826549. Archived from the original on 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  4. Taylor, Sharon (7 September 2020). "Dodging the Draft in the Old Country". The Librarians. National Library of Israel. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  5. Grissom, Brandi (2013-02-24). "Andre Thomas: Gaps in the Mental Health Code". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  6. Grissom, Brandi (2013-02-26). "Andre Thomas: Questions of Competence, Justice". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  7. Quatrino, Nina (2020-02-08). "Sherman man on death row wants new trial". KXII. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  8. Associated Press (2023-02-19). "Death row inmate Andre Thomas who cut out eyes, ate one seeks clemency". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2024-07-19. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  9. Kee, Caroline (2018-03-14). "A 20-Year-Old Gouged Out Her Own Eyes While In A Drug-Induced Psychosis". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  10. Narins, Elizabeth (2018-03-09). "Kaylee Muthart Talks About Gouging Out Her Own Eyes On Crystal Meth". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  11. Feit, Noah (2018-02-22). "Mom of woman who gouged eyes out tells "People" she was going to have her committed". thestate. Archived from the original on 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  12. Feit, Noah (2018-03-18). ""The world just got darker," SC woman who gouged out her eyes talks about ordeal". thestate. Archived from the original on 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  13. Davis, Kelly (12 September 2021). "Lawsuit: Jail video shows deputy watched as inmate blinded herself". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  14. Davis, Kelly (19 October 2022). "San Diego County will pay $4.35 million to woman who blinded herself in jail". Retrieved 1 November 2022.
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