Rock Addiction!

Teresa, who you see in the beginning of the video, has a serious condition! Her issue is eating rocks! I think this is even worse than chalk! It's worse for her too...the body can definitely not digest rocks as well as it can chalk. It is also really bad for her teeth so I really hope she's on her way to recovery!

Seven Steps in Breaking the Addiction

The Seven Steps!
This is a link Dr. Phil provides called "Seven Steps to Breaking Your Addiction."

This blog is not only meant to inform, but help people with PICA as well. An addiction is not a choice, it's something that if dangerous, needs to be treated so that the person is in good health. I personally love Dr.Phil! haha so if this is helpful to anyone with PICA please let me know!

SOAP ADDICTION

Just when I think that one thing is shocking, I discover something else! This woman named Dawnette has an addiction to soap. She was featured on Dr. Phil and finds eating the soap "calming." She eats one bar per week! Dr. Phil explains how this is toxic and her addiction needs to be treated as soon as possible. He also points out how it is used to help anxiety. This makes sense considering most people go to cigarettes or alcohol for helping calm their anxiety, but in many ways this could be even more dangerous.

Check out this segment on the Doctors! This woman Claudeen (excuse my spelling if that is incorrect) eats 4 to 6 BOXES a day. In this case, she has been treated for full blown osteoporosis! A pretty severe example of how it truly could effect your health. Let's hope she's still on her way to getting better!


WATCH HERE

How crazy! This video is from Discovery Health: My Strange Addiction segment. She doesn't even believe she has a problem! Surprisingly, doctors say eating colored chalk is more dangerous than eating white chalk but overall it doesn't cause problems to the individuals health. She's not alone though! There are many other people in the world that enjoy the texture of chalk...I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't bear holding chalk in my hand for a long enough time, let alone eating it! I get the chills even watching people eat it 😬

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Who Am I? What is PICA?

Hello! So for anyone reading this blog that isn't in Intro to Developmental Disabilities class with the best professor at NCC, my name is Gillian. I am 18 years old (19 in a couple of weeks!) and I am currently a student at Nassau Community College. For one of our projects the assignment is to create a blog based on any subject related to the field we are studying. I chose to research PICA. According to the medical dictionary, PICA is "the persistent craving and compulsive eating of nonfood substances. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, classifies it as a feeding and eating disorder of childhood." So basically, it is an eating disorder in which a person will eat many non-edible substances from chalk to light bulbs instead of food. It is extremely dangerous and develops within the first month a baby is born. Personally, I was not aware of what PICA was until I saw it featured on a True Life segment on MTV. It is a very interesting topic that not many people are informed about so in this blog I am going to share a bunch of intriguing videos, articles, links, and information on PICA. Hope you enjoy it!! :)