It is nothing new that some people have strange eating habits. Maybe you also have an eating habit that surprises people. Have you ever heard of someone who likes to eat bricks and mortar? No, neither have we, until now. Patrice Benjamin-Ramgoolam does this and must stop now for herself and for her husband.
Unique eating disorder
Patrice (39) suffers from a fairly unique eating disorder. She likes to eat cement. Why? The (extremely) dry texture of this makes her feel as if a ‘warm blanket’ has fallen over her. The eating disorder she has is called ‘pica’, where people eat non-foods to feel better. Think of products such as chalk, paper or soap. Patrice already had a craving for cement as a teenager. She knows all too well that it is a serious problem, but for her it feels like something that makes her happy.
Problem in the family
Although her eating disorder is very unique and you would think it would be very harmful, she has not experienced any health problems so far. After her parents divorced, she lived with her grandparents. Here she discovered that her uncle and aunt also suffered from this eating disorder.
Patrice stops in front of her husband
She wouldn’t quit for herself, but she would for her husband. “I really want to quit for my husband, but I just don’t know if I can,” she says in an interview. Patrice secretly ate from the walls. When she got together with her husband Calvin, he knew nothing about her problem. She managed to hide it well by creating gaps behind posters, so it didn’t stand out. At some point her husband Calvin found out because she had dust around her mouth and a pair of scissors in her hands that had made a hole in the wall. Oh dear..
Her husband’s response
Patrice was extremely afraid of her husband’s reaction. After she told her, she was still happy that he knew. Having such a big secret is not healthy either. Her husband was disappointed and could hardly believe it. He begged her to stop and see a doctor about her problem. During her process of getting better, she discovered that her eating disorder was a result of past traumas.
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On the way to healing
Patrice currently practices many mindfulness exercises to deal with her eating disorder. She now has more control over her disorder and knows that if she continued with it, it would not end well. “To be honest, I don’t know if I can stop completely because it makes me happy when I eat this. I especially hope that it does not damage my health.”
