We think of addiction as something that must be detrimental to one’s health. However, in reality, many of us are addicted to various things that may not hamper our lives in any way.

These addictions are still quite real as well as essential for our day-to-day functioning. It may be coffee for some, cleanliness for others, and obsessively sharing kitten memes for someone else—whatever engages the reward system in the brain for each of us.

It gets weird, however, when we see a compulsion that has no reason to exist in the first place. Ever come across kids who can’t stop eating sand or heard about people addicted to eating ashes?

These addictions—which don’t have a clear-cut reason to exist but are as real as the other dangerous ones—fascinate us the most. Here are some of the most baffling ones.

10 Tanning

The artificial UV tanning industry could simply be explained by the inherent human tendency to look different than our usual selves, somewhat like how people with curly hair want to have it straightened and vice versa. And it works well, too, especially for the times of the year when the sun isn’t enough to give you a darker tone.

When it gets weird is when you can’t stop—not because you like the tan too much but because you have an addiction to it.

Cases of people getting addicted to the artificial tanning process are abundant. If you think it’s the same thing as people who just can’t stop having their hair done, it goes a bit beyond that.

Many recent studies have confirmed that tanning addiction is very real and engages the same part of the brain as drugs like heroin. Some research points to the possibility that it may just be in your genes, even if only a small percentage of people who regularly go for tanning can actually be classified as dependent on it.^[1]

9 Drinking Urine

You may have heard of people who insist that drinking your own—and, in some extreme cases, other people’s—urine is good for health. As long as they’re not harming anyone in the process, there’s not much we can do to convince them otherwise. Even if no scientific study has ever proven a correlation between that behavior and any health benefits, it’s more of a case of “to each his own” and we respect that.

Sometimes, though, it can go well beyond a general preference for human urine as food. Quite a few people have reported that they start getting withdrawal symptoms if they don’t get their daily fix of urine.

For example, Robert Wells, who is in his sixties, can’t stop collecting urine from younger people—often without their knowledge—and drinking it. He admits that it’s an urge he can’t control. In fact, he has been charged with multiple sex offenses for going out and collecting pee from kids.

Wells believes that urine from young people will help to keep him looking young for a longer time.^[2]

8 Animal Hoarding

We’ve all heard of the “crazy cat lady” trope, even though we’re not sure why it can’t apply to men, too. We all know of someone who has surrounded herself with a bunch of animals to make up for a lack of social skills, even if it may just be about loving animals a bit too much rather than a case of loneliness. However, there are those rare occasions that are so bad that it actually harms the animals involved and can border on being an addiction.^[3]

Science agrees that animal hoarding has many features of an actual addiction, including denial of the problem, a compulsive need to engage in it, excuses for this behavior, and no regard for maintaining the individual’s personal surroundings. It may sound like the “crazy cat lady” stereotype is true, but in actual cases, it’s much more serious than just collecting a lot of pets. It’s also difficult to overcome without help.

7 Human Blood

Vampires have been a part of Western folklore for as long as we can remember. We’re not sure if these stories are based on real cases of people obsessed with human blood, but mythology often doesn’t care about facts. We also don’t know if these individuals were actually addicted to drinking blood or if they just occasionally dabbled because they liked the taste of it. But again, they’re fictional and don’t require an in-depth explanation for how vampirism works.

If we talk about real life, though, an addiction to drinking blood is certainly scientifically possible. In fact, a Turkish man was reportedly addicted to drinking his own blood. The doctors described his need for blood to be “as urgent as breathing,” even though they weren’t able to explain how he developed it.

He had no disorder or deficiency that could explain it, though he was afflicted with a personality disorder. Also, he had witnessed some violent events earlier in his life, though those things don’t come close to explaining how he developed the compulsion. Thankfully, he was just addicted to drinking his own blood.^[4]

6 Coffee Enema

An enema may sound gross, but it’s one of the most effective and widely used medical methods for relieving severe constipation. Although enemas are mostly administered by professionals, there are ways to do it yourself at home by injecting your backside with fluids to stimulate a bowel movement.

A coffee enema—an experimental variation done with coffee and first introduced in the 1940s by Dr. Max Gerson—is not the same thing. Many doctors and scientists have pointed out its ill effects on the body, and it’s no longer offered by medical facilities in the US for those reasons.

That hasn’t stopped a Florida couple from developing an addiction to coffee enemas. They feel a rush while doing it and get withdrawal symptoms if they don’t. They describe the feeling as a kind of euphoria and give themselves coffee enemas an average of four times a day. The wife has admitted to giving herself one up to 10 times in a day in the past.^[5]

5 Getting Tattoos

You may have come across people with a bunch of tattoos all over their bodies. Given the increasing acceptance of tattoos in society, there’s a high chance that at least one of these individuals is in your social circle. Tattoos may mean different things to different people, and it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact psychological reasons for why we like getting them so much.

In some cases, however, tattoos can go beyond just inking a piece of art on your body that means something special to you. Tattoo addiction is a real thing for more people than you’d guess. According to research, about 32 percent of Americans admit to being addicted to tattoos and feel the need to go out and get a new one shortly after their last one.

Some scientists have tried to explain it as an addiction to the pain that comes with the process of getting a tattoo. It may also have to do with being addicted to the attention. However, science is still figuring out exactly what causes a chronic addiction to tattoos.^[6]

4 Romantic Rejection

Asking someone out and getting rejected is one of the most normal parts of most people’s dating lives. Almost all of us have experienced it in one form or the other. Sure, it may not be the preferable outcome, but it’s still something you have to wade through if you actually like dating.

It’s a problem, though, when some people can get addicted to it to the point that they enjoy all the heartbreak and pain arising from rejection. And we are not making this up.

According to a study published in Journal of Neurophysiology, romantic rejection involves the same parts of the brain that cause us to get addicted to something. The researchers even came up with a parameter for it—the Passionate Love Scale—and concluded that romantic rejection is definitely a form of addiction.^[7]

We may be making it sound like all fun and games, but it also does a lot to explain cases of rejected people becoming violent toward the person who rebuffed them. In many cases, this leads to extreme outcomes like suicide or murder.

3 Plastic Surgery

For the longest time in our history, permanent disfigurement due to accidents was irreversible. Back then, we didn’t have today’s medical tech to do something about it. Plastic surgery was a revolutionary development, allowing us to fix parts of our body. It was obvious that we’d soon be using it to make us look better.

It’s when some people compulsively feel the need to keep changing their appearance with plastic surgery that it turns into an actual addiction. Although scientists don’t understand how that manifests itself, we know of too many celebrities who can’t stop themselves from getting plastic surgery.

Some experts explain it with a disorder called body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).^[8] Sufferers feel the need to continually change their looks. Not everyone addicted to plastic surgery is diagnosed with BDD, and we don’t quite understand why so many people without any other underlying medical conditions would compulsively get up to 10 plastic surgeries in a day.

2 Milk Products

Even people who do not experience lactose intolerance may suffer from a dairy-related ailment. For these individuals, milk derivatives like butter or cheese are something they’d never refuse.

Some people are unhealthily obsessed with these products, often using them to replace regular meals no matter what it does to their health. If that sounds like an addiction, it absolutely is. Milk and its derivatives contain molecules that attach to the same parts of the brain as drugs like opiates.

Milk contains casein as well as other similar chemicals like casomorphins. These substances act like the highly addictive painkiller morphine. In fact, they’re like each other in chemical composition and what they do to our brains. The brain also releases quite a bit of dopamine while eating cheese, further exacerbating its addictive effects and essentially making us hooked on it.^[9]

1 Drinking Water

Humans are a water-based species. So it doesn’t take a health professional or an Instagram fitness blogger to convince us of the benefits of drinking a lot of water each day. It keeps our bodies running the way they should, does wonders for our skin, and generally helps us feel better than someone who doesn’t consume enough of it.

If we told you that it’s possible to become addicted to water in the same way as other harmful substances, you’d probably tell us to get out of here. But according to science, it’s absolutely possible to get addicted to water.^[10]

In some cases, people who don’t get their daily fix of water can experience headaches and other withdrawal symptoms. For many people who have “aquaholism”—as it’s unofficially called—staying away from water for even an hour may mean irritation and the compulsive need to get back to it.

Like everything in excess, this can lead to some serious negative effects on the body. Occasionally, it may also be related to a disorder called polydipsia in which a lack of sodium content in the blood can lead to excessive thirst. But most people reported to have been addicted to water don’t have that.

You can check out Himanshu’s stuff at Cracked and Screen Rant, get in touch with him for writing gigs, or just say hello to him on Twitter.

Addiction: the compulsive urge to continue doing something regardless of its possible adverse outcomes. Every human is unique, with their likes and fantasies. Some like to travel, and others love to stay indoors. From introverts to extroverts and everything in between, we learn to co-exist through our likes and dislikes. When it comes to addiction, people have been known to indulge in things like drugs, coffee, or even social media. But you can mention your daily reliance on coffee to someone, and it won’t sound cringe-worthy.

Imagine meeting someone who says they are addicted to drinking their urine. Or another that prefers having a piece of their brick wall over a slice of pizza topped with lanai-grown pineapples. Yes, such are the crazy addictions that people around the world have. Here is a list of some of the strangest things people have been addicted to.

10 Drinking Nail Polish

In a world with plenty of drinks and beverages, drinking nail polish is as strange as it gets! Crazy as it is, some people have come out to declare their love for drinking nail polish, each for various reasons. For instance, rather than drink water or a milkshake, Bertha drinks about five bottles of nail polish daily to quench her thirst. Others have claimed that drinking nail polish feels like warm milk, and they like the sensation they get in their throats from the habit.

Allison, another YouTube content creator, says she is addicted to drinking nail polish and stain remover. She drinks around seven gallons weekly and has no intention of quitting the habit; of course, it’s now an addiction. As you probably know, nail polish has toxic ingredients and is unsuitable for human consumption.

9 Ice Cube Eating

People with weird appetites are said to be suffering from a form of pica. For instance, people addicted to eating ice cubes suffer from a type of pica known as pagophagia. And yes, some people can’t function without taking a bucket of ice cubes. Usually associated with iron-deficiency anemia, this habit has many side effects.

When a patient identified only as an “Ice Eater” went to see her doctor, she complained of abdominal pain. Upon examination, her doctor discovered that she was anemic, and it was common for such patients to crave ice cubes. While this addiction has a medical/scientific explanation, it affects very few people and is strange.

8 Drinking Blood, Including Human!

We have strange; then there is crazy strange; Michele, a tattoo artist, falls under this category. After turning 19, the artist developed a strong urge to drink animal blood. She downs a glass immediately after she wakes up to “kick start” her day. From cooking to snacking and everything in between, Michele drinks and uses blood at every opportunity! Do you want to know what her favorite “flavor” is? It’s pig blood. She prefers it because it’s a little bit saltier than the stuff from cows. Who knew?

Obviously, it took some time for her family to come to terms with her bizarre addiction. If you think you have heard enough, you are in for a rude shock: Michele now drinks human blood when she can. She attributes her behavior to the fascination that comes with it, not culture, not beliefs, just cravings!

7 Eating Soap and Washing Detergent

Tempest, a 19-year-old college student, is addicted to eating soap and detergent. In a video posted on YouTube, she claims that doing so helps her calm down when stressed from schoolwork and other life issues. Her addiction started and grew gradually. She began by craving the scent of washing soap and detergent.

After some time, she thought to herself: “if smelling such products gave her such tranquility externally, how much more would she achieve internally if she started ingesting them?” She started by licking a pinch of laundry detergent. Soon, her cravings grew, and she started eating a handful. Before she knew it, she had grown into an addict, consuming about 100 bars of soap annually.

Soap and detergents contain bleaching compounds and chemicals, which can cause massive bodily harm upon ingestion. Fortunately for Tempestt, she talked about her addiction with her friends and family and was talked into seeing a doctor. Even though she still loves the smell of these products, she managed to stop her eating addiction and should be in a better place now.

6 Snorting Baby Powder

Lisa Anderson is a 44-year-old woman with a weird addiction to sniffing Johnson’s baby powder. In what started as a pregnancy craving, Anderson initially loved the smell of the baby powder. When the child came, her urge grew stronger, and she started eating it. Her reliance grew so strong that she, at one point, consuming about a bottle a day.

Besides the heavy dent that her addiction causes to her pocketbook, Lisa explains that she goes to the bathroom about 40 times a day. This explains the adverse health effects that come with eating baby powder.

5 Eating Glass

Josh is a stand-up performer who is addicted to eating glass. He claims he started the habit when he read about it in a book. After the first trial, he felt it was okay, and the urge to continue indulging rose. Being an entertainer, Josh noticed that the more he ate glass in front of people, the more attention he would get. Because people had become used to his glass-eating antics, Josh started swallowing bullets.

In a video, he claims that he has consumed over 30 of them and relishes the attention he gets from them. At this point, it is difficult to tell whether Josh is addicted to eating glass and swallowing bullets or the attention that comes with it.

4 Hair Pulling

Kelsie Hanna, a 30-year-old woman, wakes up daily with a compulsive urge to pull her hair. She explains that the desire comes about when she feels like one of her hair strands is filled with ants or needles that need to be removed. In an attempt to search and remove the “culprit,” she pulls a bunch of other strands.

Kelsie’s mother indicates that she first learned of her daughter’s weird addiction when she was five. She later found out that Kelsie had a trash can full of hair, and that’s when she recognized the danger her daughter was facing. Because this is not a common disorder, frequent visits to the doctor and therapies have not helped much. Growing up, Kelsie learned to manage her condition. She has shaved the hair in every part of her body except her head. She wears a wig every time she wants to go out.

3 Eating Clay Mask

Natasha, a 40-year-old woman from California, is addicted to eating clay masks! She thinks that they taste wonderful, and it helps calm her down. For over seven years, she has been so hooked on the products that she sometimes replaces her meals with them or eats them together. For her, it’s either food that accommodates her addiction or not. She consumes up to a jar a day, and people close to her are definitely concerned. Understandably, when she first broke the news to her boyfriend, he was surprised. Natasha has probably consumed over a ton of clay masks in the last seven years, but she remains unfazed.

Besides affecting her life, her youngest child also feels like doing the same. Upon request by her boyfriend, Natasha recently visited a doctor, had an x-ray done, and had other tests, and guess what? She turned out okay. The doctor, however, recommended that she stops the addiction because there was a possibility that she could take in parasites that could affect her health. Being an addict for nearly a decade, the habit won’t go away quickly, though.

2 Drinking Urine

There have been many debates about the health benefits of drinking personal urine, but the idea—healthy or not—makes many cringe. However, some people have gone on to implement the concept as the debate continues. After discovering no scientific treatment options for their ailments, several patients formed a group where they would drink their own pee, hoping to get cured. One of the patients narrates that the habit helps him manage eczema in his hands; he literally found a cure within himself.

Another group member claims that she has been drinking her urine since 1983. Not only does she drink it, but she also uses it to cleanse her eyes and wash her face. Many of the group members also soak their feet in pee. They say it makes their feet “lighter than air.”

1 Eating a Dead Person

We all agree eating a dead person is beyond strange, right? Apparently, for Cassie, that forms a part of her daily routine. She carries her husband’s ashes and eats a potion at every opportunity. Cassie doesn’t leave her deceased lover behind, from the grocery stores to the restaurants and shopping centers! She talks to him and cooks his favorite meals, and they watch his favorite shows together. Cassie believes these are acts of love and doesn’t see anything wrong with them.

They were married after dating for ten months, but her husband later passed on after succumbing to a severe asthma attack. Her addiction started when some ashes spilled on her fingers, and because she didn’t have a cloth to wipe them with, she decided to lick herself clean. Little did she know that this would mark the beginning of a crazy addiction.