r/addiction • u/CisseBen • 1d ago

Venting I got hooked on chewing ice.

I got hooked on chewing ice. It started harmlessly during college. I would finish my drink and absentmindedly crunch the leftover cubes. Soon, I was buying bags of ice from the gas station just to chew. The sound, the texture, even the cold sting on my teeth gave me a bizarre kind of satisfaction. Friends joked that I must be a penguin in disguise.

It got weirder when I realized I craved it at odd times, like sneaking to the freezer at 2 a.m. or choosing restaurants based on the kind of ice they served. My dentist warned me I was destroying my enamel, but the urge was stronger than the pain. Eventually, I learned it was linked to low iron levels, and once I treated the deficiency, the craving faded. Looking back, it feels almost comical, but at the time it felt like a real addiction, one that made my freezer sound like a slot machine every night.

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u/NovelShelter7489 1d ago

So you probably have Pica, do some research. At least its not ICE ice. I drink far too much pure lemon juice and my enamel is going the same way.

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u/youdontgetityet 1d ago

chewing ice to an eating disorder? that’s a big stretch.

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u/NovelShelter7489 1d ago

The term pica means the desire to eat something with zero nutritional value. Look it up.

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u/youdontgetityet 1d ago

“Pica is an eating disorder characterized by compulsively eating non-food items that have no nutritional value.”

eating disorder