Pica Disorder: “Eating disorders are a serious mental illness, not a lifestyle choice.” Millions of people have to deal with inner demons on a daily basis, some more serious than others but one that is severe, is Pica disorder. Pica disorder is an eating disorder where people have an appetite for non-nutritive, inedible materials and become addicted to eating items such as clay, nail polish, drywall, light bulbs and much more. This disorder causes victims to eat unimaginable things and causes many medical problems in the process. Some doctors believe that this disorder is just complication of the mental psyche, but there is more underlying issues that cause this disorder. Thus, Pica disorder is caused by a combination of biochemical, environmental and psychological factors. Biochemical factors are located in the brain and are chemical or mineral that control our brians health. A patient can have an abundance or a shortage of certain chemical or mineral, which can cause serious problems within the brains processes. Many victims that have pica disorder, have severe iron and zinc deficiency. Therefore patients begin to crave certain item that one would not normally desire such as magnets, light bulbs, nail polish, and much more that contain high amounts of iron and zinc in there make up.

They tend to eat an abundance of materials that satisfy what there body is craving. At some point the victims tend to believe that what they are ingesting is helping them so they continue to eat that specific item. They being to develop OCD, know as obsessive compulsive disorder, where they focus extremely on eating one item and become obsessed with injesting that item and eat it throughout the day. They literally become addicted to eating one thing like an addict to a drug. They are always thinking of how they are going to get it and they think about it continously and