Here’s a story that may require a strong stomach (or a simple fascination with the macabre).
In the first known case of self-cannibalism in New Zealand (and the eighth one to be reported around the world), a 28-year-old New Zealand man recently decided to sautee his finger in “a pan with vegetables”.
The “extreme act” was reported inside the pages of the Australasian Psychiatry Journal by two Christchurch-based psychiatrists:
Their patient, aged 28 at the time in 2009, decided to sever his finger after he “spiralled into an episode of depression” following a personal crisis.
Authors Erik Monasterio and Craig Prince said the man was not under the influence of medication, drugs or alcohol, but he was experiencing “significant insomnia and suicidal ideation, and ruminated for days about cutting off his fingers. In an effort to seek reprieve from these thoughts, he tied a shoelace around his little finger to act as a tourniquet and cut the finger off with a jigsaw. He then cooked it in a pan with some vegetables and ate its flesh.”
The man reportedly felt excited about the event at first, but later “regretted his first act of self-harm because of its debilitating effects”.
Both authors say the man also planned to “amputate” an additional two fingers the following day, but changed his mind.
The article did not say whether or not the young man in question was okay, but here’s hoping.
Depressed man eats own finger [The Sun]