Why are people so mean in the comments over things they do not understand? On TLC there is a girl who is addicted to eating pottery and cigarette ashes. People do not believe this is real. Yes it is real and it is horrible to deal with a *strange* addiction. I am saying this from a personal perspective. I believe I suffer from pica and have to make an appointment with a therapist to discuss it.
What do I have an addiction to? It is embarrassing and hard to talk about. I started out having to chew ice. I mean the big ice cubes. I would get a glass and fill it full with ice like a whole tray worth and eat it. I would then go grab another tray and start in on eating it. Now I have a new refrigerator and can chew on crushed ice. I will wake up in the middle of the night and have to get me ice to chew on. I bring a cup of ice water to be so I can chew on ice through the night.
I then moved on to having to chew on paper. I do not swallow it unless by mistake but I have to chew on paper. When I can't get to paper I can have a panic attack almost. I love how it feels in my mouth as I crush it with my teeth. I even h...ave different types of paper that I prefer. I used to love to chew on Post-Its minus the glue. I chewed through 3 large packs of it in no time before I realized what I was doing. Oh and yes Post-Its brand is the best texture.
I love printer paper to chew on, and the tear out ads in magazines, I love the paper that is *dry* feeling not smooth. I have no idea how or why I started this but I have done this for over 5 years now.
My last *addiction* is coasters. You know the ones made of clay I guess it is? I do not know why I did the first nibble but I did it and loved it. I do not swallow this either unless by accident. I just like to take a nibble off a coaster and spit it out. I love the dry feeling and the texture. It is hard to explain. I nibbled my way through 3 sets of coasters. I did not eat the whole coaster just the outside part of them. I know it is gross and for the most part I no longer do this. I tossed all the coasters I had here so the temptation was no longer there.
OK I also crave dirt. I mean you know how on a hot summer day when you get the pavement wet or like after a first rain? That smell is what I crave to eat. I have licked a rock to get that smell/flavor and I have tasted dirt. It is not what I want it is that smell of a fresh rain on pavement that I want. Oh yea the jellybeans that were dirt flavored? I loved them. I have bought Robert some of the Harry Potter Jelly Bellies as a joke and I kept the dirt ones.
So please do not make fun of me do not tell me I am sick. I just wanted to let people know that yes some of us suffer with *strange* addictions and some of us want help stopping the behaviors.
It sounds like the same addiction to finger nail biting. ;) The ONLY thing that stops me from biting is getting my nails done..acrylics. I don't bite with those on. I also grew up biting on the ends of pens too. If I am writing for any length of time, I end up sticking the pen cap in my mouth. It happens unconsciously.. I usually don't even notice that I did it until the lid is totaled. You're brave to share such an intimate part of yourself in the blogosphere. I think ice is safer to chew on than paper or coasters though..unless your dentist says it's causing a problem for your teeth. Did you see the guy on Stanley's Superhumans? He ate glass..and swallowed it. ((shudder))
ReplyDeleteLOL Lexi loves to chew paper too! I yelled at her for the longest time to chew gum, but she said she cant help it, and if I don't give her the paper to chew on she chew's her hair, so I let her chew on paper as much as she wants!! and like you she said its the way it feels in her mouth <3 Sara ur niece
ReplyDeletePica is a hard addiction for others to understand. I only know about it from reading when I was pregnant, but I've heard others talk about that new show on TV. I hope the therapist can help you, Daphne. Good luck. :)
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