Chloe-Jennings White wears leg braces and uses a wheelchair, even though her legs work (Barcroft)

Chloe has chosen to live her life as a disabled person (Barcroft)

Chloe-Jennings White's body is perfectly healthy, but due to a rare condition she chooses to live her life as a paraplegic.



The Cambridge University educated research scientist, dreams of being paralysed from the waist down and has revealed she is willing to take drastic action to make it a reality.



The 58-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah, suffers from Body Integrity Identity Disorder, or BIID, a rare disorder when sufferers reject their own limbs, and seek to amputate them, or become paraplegic.



Some experts believe it is caused by a neurological fault, in which the brain's mapping system cannot see a certain body part.

Body Integrity Identity Disorder is a rare psychological condition (Barcroft)

Chloe bandaged herself secretly for years to cope with her disorder

Chloe outside her workplace, the University of Utah (Barcroft)

For years Chloe bandaged herself secretly to limit the movement of her legs – but now she lives openly with her condition, despite facing intolerance, insults, and sometimes online threats.



As a child, she would climb trees and play dangerous sports in a deliberate attempt to damage her legs.



"I only wanted to stop my legs working but could have broken my neck or died," she said.

Chloe thinks she thinks "sub-consciously" tries to harm herself in accidents (Barcroft)

Without her leg brace on in her bathroom in Salt Lake City, US (Barcroft)

Chloe out hiking in May this year in Salt Lake City (Barcroft)

As an adult, she has also suffered skiing and car crash injuries, she thinks "sub-consciously", in a bid to make her dream come true.



"I ski extremely fast, and aim for the most dangerous runs," she said.



"Doing any activity that brings a chance of me becoming paraplegic gives me a sense of relief from the anxiety caused by the BIID," she said.

Chloe admits she skis because she hopes to have an accident to damage both her legs (Barcroft)

Chloe's condition is thought to be caused by a neurological failing (Barcroft)

Chloe was only diagnosed with BIID five years ago, which she described as "a huge relief."



"I wasn't a freak - there were hundreds of others like me," she said.



Since her diagnosis, doctors have told Chloe to use a wheelchair and leg braces to help limit her movement as a way of relief.



However, Chloe has admitted her obsession has not lessened.

Chloe hiking with her friend David Allen earlier this year (Barcroft)

She sometimes even fantasises about ways of having a car crash so that she can damage her legs.



"Any time when I'm driving I sort of conjure up accident scenarios in my mind where I will become paraplegic," she admitted.



In 2009 she was involved in a serious 75mph car crash and suffered pre-concussion amnesia so cannot remember the 15 minutes before the impact.



Police reports seem to show it was not a deliberate act, but Chloe worries she may have subconsciously wanted it to happen.

Chloe sitting with her friend Clover and her baby boy Randi in May (Barcroft)

Most shockingly of all, Chloe said she has even sought out a surgeon willing to sever her sciatic nerve to paralyse her.



The operation, which would have cost £16,000, was too expensive for the Cambridge graduate.



"I might never be able to afford it, but I know, truly and deeply, I won't regret it if I ever can," she said.



"Something in my brain tells me my legs are not supposed to work. Having any sensation in them just feels wrong," Chloe said.





Chloe is trying to find a surgeon willing to sever her spine to make her paralysed (Barcroft)

Psychiatriast Dr Mark Malan, who treats Chloe, said: "The question I often ask is, is it better to have somebody pretending to use a wheelchair, or to commit suicide?



"One possibility could be to do some sort of nerve blocking so that that limb could not actually be used for a period of time, to let the patient test the reality of being physically disabled temporarily.



"It would give BIID sufferers a chance to change their minds if they wanted to."



Chloe believes it is important to raise awareness about her condition and now writes for the BIID support group Transabled.

Chloe with her doctor, Dr Mark Malan, who is helping her with her condition (Barcroft)