Can I Eat This? but on a ranking scale
July 16, 2021 6:48 PM Subscribe
TW body focused repetitive behaviors, maybe pica
I have a compulsive need to put things in my mouth, chew, and swallow - I've been trying to stop but also don't want to constantly eat food. Recently, I've replaced eating my hair/skin/nails with things near me, but I'm not sure how unhealthy that is. I know it's not safe in general to eat miscellaneous nearby objects, but I kind of feel like it's the only option I have. Are there any particular materials that might be safer overall to eat than others?
I've been eating a lot of paper recently. Old lip balms also go fast. I have old cotton shirts that are easy to eat but I don't want to keep ruining shirts. I have acrylic yarn that would work texture wise if it was safer in some way. I don't have a lot of cardboard right now. I have metal bobby pins covered with paint(?) that can be scraped off.
There are a few other things that "work" texture wise but are too obviously toxic so I won't bother but if you think I've missed anything that might be safer than I thought it was, that would be helpful. Also, if there are some types of paper that are safer than others (more or less pulp? etc), that would also be good to know.
Also, I am not looking for advice on solving the always-need-to-chew-and-eat problem right now for various personal reasons - I would appreciate it if I only got answers on what would be safest/least safe for me to eat.
I've been eating a lot of paper recently. Old lip balms also go fast. I have old cotton shirts that are easy to eat but I don't want to keep ruining shirts. I have acrylic yarn that would work texture wise if it was safer in some way. I don't have a lot of cardboard right now. I have metal bobby pins covered with paint(?) that can be scraped off.
There are a few other things that "work" texture wise but are too obviously toxic so I won't bother but if you think I've missed anything that might be safer than I thought it was, that would be helpful. Also, if there are some types of paper that are safer than others (more or less pulp? etc), that would also be good to know.
Also, I am not looking for advice on solving the always-need-to-chew-and-eat problem right now for various personal reasons - I would appreciate it if I only got answers on what would be safest/least safe for me to eat.
This post was deleted for the following reason: I appreciate you're not looking for advice on the medical side of this issue, but the advice you are asking for here isn't something Ask MetaFilter is equipped to responsibly help with. This definitely needs to be something you discuss with a medical professional first. -- cortex
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