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 Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

's tragedy ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to ...

'', gouged his own eyes out after discovering he had married his mother. In the 13th century,

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

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 The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

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 Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. On December 9, 2008, whilst on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

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 The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

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 Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

, believing that "sacrificing her eyes ouldsave the world". The incident left Muthart permanently blind. In May 2019, Tanya Suárez removed her own eyes in a San Diego, California, county jail while under the influence of

. 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

{{Psychology-stub Symptoms and signs of mental disorders Neurological disorders Self-harm Body modification