My Strange Addiction

Sometimes guilty pleasures border on dangerous, some of them are outright ludicrous, and almost all of them in this show are (in my opinion) comedy GOLD.

In case you didn’t know from the title, I’m talking about the TLC show My Strange Addiction. This absolute treasure of a television show ran from 2010 to 2015, totaling 6 seasons- all of which Hulu now enables me to binge like crazy whenever I please.

If you’re unfamiliar, I suggest you fix that. In the meantime, allow me to introduce you. Typically each episode will open up with a scene of a seemingly normal person going about doing seemingly normal chores- getting the mail, eating breakfast, etc. Overlay this with an introductory track: “My name is Kelly. I live in Michigan. I work as a dental assistant. And -

The show will go on to detail the person’s professed addiction, which could be something relatively ‘normal’ gone out of control like plastic surgery, or something decidedly…not-so-normal, like needing to carry the disembodied head of a doll with you wherever you go, stroking it repeatedly. It will then move on to address how this addiction is interfering with that person’s life or the lives of those around them. This often involves a visit to a doctor or psychiatrist at some point, who sits and explains to their new patient why say, eating insulation for instance might not be the best for your health. This type of news is understandably met with indignation and surprise.

A lot of the obsessions highlighted on this show are so crazy you really doubt they’re real, though that doesn’t make for any less fun watching. Often this disbelief is due to the hazardous nature of the addiction. Just look at Josh from season 1 episode 10 who habitually consumed glass as a hardcore party trick (yes, glass. Thought you were metal? Unless you’ve eaten 250 light bulbs, 100 drinking glasses and some bullets get the hell out of my face, poser.)

Speaking of eating things, the condition Pica (a strong urge to chew or eat items that aren’t actually, well, food) features heavily in this show. Everything from rocks to diapers to nail polish to one memorably individualistic fellow from season 5 episode 6, who prioritized eating a whole paper route of plastic bags every morning over sealing the deal with his buzzkill fiancé. My favorite eating moment comes from Jennifer in season 5 who is very candid about her desire to devour a good mattress (or two).

Some episodes have surprisingly emotional roots that catch you in the feels. One that sticks in my brain is episode 7 of season 2, in which a bereaved woman starts eating her dead husband’s ashes to be closer to him. One of the things I like most about this show is the way so many episodes manage to really straddle a three-way intersection between comedic, sad, and down-right creepy.

Honestly one of my favorite things about My Strange Addiction is not only the weirdness of the addictions themselves, but the way the subject’s friends and family react onscreen when they confront the news.

This always comes about in a staged portion of the show in which the relative or friend comes to the sufferer’s house, acting like it is any other day.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” one guy’s dad might ask, pretending to be unaware of the cameras with true reality-show spirit. And all of a sudden, here we are:

The answer from the protagonist is often so blunt it’s hysterical, and reactions range from tears to anger to complete WTF-ery. My favorite reaction moment of all time occurred in season 4 episode 2 when the guy from my title picture (scroll up for full visual) informed his cousin of his steadfast romantic commitment to 15 inflatable pool animals. The deathly silence that crept over the room was sublime. It was only eventually broken by an equally artful camera zoom and a single, awkward, verge-of-panic-where’s-the-door kind of “wow” from the beleaguered cousin. Unfortunately, I could not find footage of this golden scene, so instead you get a runner-up clip of this bad ventriloquist who lives vicariously through her dolls (it’s almost just as good):

Yeah, My Strange Addiction is funny and makes for great memes, but it also allows you to forget your worries for a bit, or at least feel better about them if given some perspective. I mean, the world may be pretty bleak right now but at least you’re not the daughter of the couple that locks themselves in the bathroom to indulge in coffee enemas four times a day (season 4, episode 1 if you’re curious).

I’ll admit there’s also just something genuinely delightful and weirdly heartwarming to me about how…weird we all are as humans. We may not all be as bizarre as some of the people featured on this show, but we all have our weird little guilty pleasures, the embarrassing or gross or just plain odd things we indulge in behind closed doors.

Maybe we’d truly rather die than share these things with the public, let alone the world (even for a good chunk of change). But whether we’re giving it or getting it, I’m willing to bet there are also a lot of us out there who crave the thrill of a little- or a lot- of good old-fashioned TMI.