Many wannabes use pretending as a way to appease the intense emotional pain related to having body integrity identity disorder.
Pretending includes dressing and acting in ways typical of disabled people, including making use of aids (glasses, hearing aids, braces, canes, inhalers, walking sticks, crutches, wheelchairs, mobility scooters, white canes etc.).
Pretending may also take the form of a devotee persuading his or her sexual partner to play the role of a disabled person.
Pretending may be practised in private, in intimacy, or in public, and may occupy surprisingly long periods.
In the latter case, some pretenders hope that the disability may become permanent, such as through tissue necrosis caused by constricted blood supply.