Addiction Of Eating Chalk - Treatment, Symptoms, And Causes

Most of you who are reading this post must have come across people, friends or acquaintances who have a compulsive habit of chewing on chalk as their favorite pastime. While we dismiss them thinking they’re just plain “weird”, there might be a graver underlying condition to their habit than just “plain weirdness”. Chalk eating is not just a habit.It’s an addiction. And an addiction that may sound interesting, but nevertheless unhealthy to the core.

Chalk eating addiction is classified under a broad medical condition called Pica. Pica is a disorder of the human body, where the patient feels the urge to eat substances that are not categorized as food. A patient suffering from pica has the compulsive disorder of ingesting non-food substances. Pica, while it occurs in most animals, is extensively diverse in the case of humans.Under pica, we can find people obsessed with eating hair, chalk, paint, soil etc. Chalk is essentially calcium carbonate, a substance that’s not a toxin but still unhealthy when ingested.

A variety of underlying causes can lead to chalk eating addiction such as:

• Mental Disorder- Most of the time, pica is associated with some kind of mental health condition or mental disorder. Doctors believe that this mental disorder is what drives their addiction to eat chalk all the time.
• Nutritional Deficiency- Chalk eating addiction also points towards an unhealthy diet or a diet lacking essential nutrients. Lack of these drives the body and the mind towards the compulsive disorder.
• During Pregnancy- Often women are found to crave for unusual things during pregnancy. It may range from simple things like the pickle to graver things like chalk, soil, etc. This can again be contributed to the above two reasons.
• Due to poverty- People suffering from poverty often fall prey to pica because they have to scavenge for food all the time, and chalk is something that is easily available to them.

• The very moment you find yourself being attracted to chalk as a snack or an ingestible substance is an alarm.

• Feeling irritable if you aren’t able to eat chalk and your mood depends on the amount of chalk you have consumed.

• You’re even aware of the type of chalk you’re addicted to.

• Abdominal pains, nausea are constant

• Gastric issues like vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, etc.

• Weakness has now become your permanent friend

• Having eye allergies and respiratory issues because of the chalk you eat.

• You dream and fantasize about eating chalk all day.

• The very moment you find an affinity for chalk or look at chalk as something edible, visit your doctor.

• If you’re fully into the addiction, visit your physician to check what damage the ingestion of chalk has done. For this, you may need to get blood tests, x-rays. endoscopy tests to be done

• Once all the harm is identified and flushed out, visit a psychologist. Get professional help to identify the reason behind your disorder.

• If the reason is identified as a mental disorder and ill-health, continue sessions with the psychiatrist and if required neurologists.

• If the reason is lack of nutrients, then visit a nutritionist, plan a proper diet chart and follow it regularly.

• Cut all means by which you can acquire chalk and related substances

• If doing the above by yourself is difficult, get help from family or close friends. Describe your condition and let them be your motivation.

• Don’t consume chalk even if it’s a one-time affair (like dares).

• Don’t let peer pressure get to you.

• If you find a person addicted to chalk, seek help for him. Advise and motivate them to the harmful effects of eating chalk.

• If you’re attracted to chalk, immediately amp up the nutrients in your food.

• Visit a doctor if the attraction continues.

• In case of pregnant women around you, rid the house of common pica elements.

• In schools, chalk should be kept away from children as a simple accidental

• ingestion can either be harmful or become a serious addiction in future.

Withdrawal symptoms occur for every addiction. It’s basically a machine when your body tries to adapt to the new found change. Following are the symptoms:

• The desperate urge to continue eating chalk.

• Sad, gloomy and depressed demeanor.

• Nausea and abdominal aches are frequent.

• Muscle cramps, vomiting, headaches, chills plague you more frequently

• Bloating, dizziness, agitation, and irritability are common

• Extensive weakness.

Now we understand what a grave problem a 'weird” habit can pose. So, folks, reach out to anyone and everyone you feel possess a food habit that is a little extraordinary. Research about the habit if your intuition tickles you about the habit is harmful. If found so, help them. Remember your single step can save someone’s life!