Self-inflicted eye injuries and self-inflicted blindness

Abstract

The case of a young man, suffering from schizophrenia, who injured his eyes with his hands and blinded himself, is described, along with his rehabilitation program. The classical and contemporary literature on self-inflicted blindness and self-inflicted eye injuries is reviewed and shows a wide range or psychiatric diagnoses and illustrates the inadequacy of attempting to apply oversimplified psychodynamic explanations. In contrast, the reaction to blindness appears to be relatively uniform, leading to the possibility of using established rehabilitation programs.