For most of the past ten years I have lived the life of an addict. My addiction took over my life forcing me to take a supply wherever I went. Despite the fact that it was affecting my health, causing me discomfort, and creating tension within my family I could not stop.
Yes, it’s true. I was an ice junkie. I easily chomped my way through a five pound bag of ice a day in the summertime. In the winter I would huddle by the fire, wrapped in a quilt and shiver while I ate ice. It was miserable.
I ate only a certain texture of ice so I had to have one particular brand from one particular store. It was ridiculous, even to me.
The truth is, most people who crave ice are severely anemic. There is something about it that kicks up that craving. That may not stop the ice eating, especially if you have been at it for a long time. Sometimes it becomes a habit that is as hard to break as smoking.
At one point, I took iron and got my levels up to almost normal. As predicted, I lost my intense craving for the chilly crunch – my 0 calorie snack. The thing is? I missed it so much that I stopped taking iron and let myself get anemic again so that I would enjoy eating ice as much as before.
It was at that point I realized that my addiction had become a habit and I was going to have to break it. I began taking iron with my doctor’s supervision and lost the physical craving again. I knew that I was going to have to break the habit and the desire that had nothing to do with physical craving.
It was difficult but I don’t eat ice anymore. My iron levels have been within normal limits for months and I don’t even put ice in my drinks. Keeping my hands busy has been the key for me.
Do you have ice cravings?
photo credit: Kevin Saff
