Woman Addicted To Eating Toilet Paper Claims She Loves "The Way The Toilet Paper Feels" On Her Tongue

Jul 07, 2023

Eating excessively can be addicting, not to mention unhealthy in many possible ways. However, it is common to see people suffering from addiction to eating sweets or other delectable treats. For example, some people could not get enough of eating too much cake, too much candies, or even too much meat. 

In many cases, eating excessive amounts of food can be harmful to one's body, but in the case of Chicago native Kesha, she couldn't help but munch on at least 75 pieces of tissue paper per day. You read that right, tissue paper. 

Kesha's peculiar palate was featured on TLC's documentary series "My Strange Addiction." The woman in her 30s revealed in the show that she has been eating tissue paper since the sixth grade. Her family expressed their worry over her, but to no avail; she still kept on eating the supposed 'sanitary' material. 

Asked about what she felt very strongly about tissue paper, Kesha confessed this: "I think I crave it because I love the way the toilet paper feels on my tongue, how it dissolves when it hits my tongue."

Based on the interview, Kesha believed that the strange addiction came from the childhood trauma that she suffered back then when she moved out of her family home to come and live with her grandmother and aunt. 

The woman's mother has been worried sick about her daughter's strange eating disorder, who has since ingested at least 1,200 pounds of tissue paper sheets since she started doing so. 

"Every time I'd see Kesha, she'd have tissue in her hand and she'd try to hide it behind her back," her mother revealed candidly. "If you tried to take it from her she'd get upset. I've never been able to understand why she eats tissue, and I never will."

Apparently, there is a medical explanation behind Kesha's condition called xylophagia. According to the National Institute of Health, xylophagia is a condition involving the consumption of paper and a form of eating disorder known as pica. Pica is an unusual craving for ingestion of either edible or inedible substances.

According to psychiatrist Dr. John Zajecka, any porous or fibrous material can build up in the stomach, and if not digested, it could cause bowel obstruction, which could be potentially fatal. Kesha's mother, along with her sister, has been encouraging her to stop eating tissue paper "like it's crack," according to her mother's words.

However, Kesha kept eating, even explaining that she preferred two-ply tissue paper so that she could break it down into pieces. Kesha eventually visited psychiatrist Dr. Kim Dennis, who explained to her what her mom had been telling her for years. 

"If your intestines rupture inside your abdomen, that could be fatal, and could be fatal pretty quickly. You're putting your body at risk and really playing Russian roulette with your life," Dennis furthered.

Kesha was open to considering stopping her addiction for 23 years, despite expressing its difficulty for her. Dennis even urged her to have a tissue-paper-free home, which seemed to have baffled her in the first place. 

Dennis suggested swapping toilet roll for wet wipes because it is more digestible than dry ones. Kesha then peeled the tissue paper after her conversation with Dennis and realized how much tissue paper she was eating. 

"Makes me sad. This is a lot of tissue that I've been eating for so long. I didn't realize how much it was. My next step is to stop eating tissue altogether. It doesn't hurt to try. I'll try," she tearily promised. Eventually, Kesha stopped eating tissue daily and cut it down to only twice a week. 

What can you say about Kesha's addiction? Do you think she would be able to overcome it? Do you know anybody else with a similar problem? Let us know, and pass this on to your family and other loved ones.