''My Strange Addiction'' is an American documentary television series that premiered on TLC on December 29, 2010. The pilot was broadcast on May 5, 2010. The series focuses on people with unusual

compulsive behavior Compulsive behavior is defined as performing an action persistently and repetitively. Compulsive behaviors could be an attempt to make obsessions go away. The act is usually a small, restricted and repetitive behavior, yet not disturbing in a pa ...

s. These range from eating specific non-food items to ritualistic daily activities to bizarre personal fixations or beliefs.

Premise

Despite the title of the show, few of the show's subjects have what would medically be classified as true addiction, neither conventional (substance-related) nor

behavioral Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as we ...

. Rather, the cause of their behavior varies and may include a variety of psychiatric diagnosis. Examples of disorders on the show are: obsessive-compulsive disorder, pica,

paraphilia Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything o ...

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...

psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...

, Alzheimer's disease, exercise bulimia, trichotillomania, body dysmorphic disorder, dermatillomania, and object sexuality. Many of these "addictions" could be considered harmful.

Episodes

Season 1 (2010-11)

Season 2 (2011)

Season 3 (2012)

Season 4 (2013)

Season 5 (2014)

Season 6 (2015)

Reception

Daily News (New York) The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'' declared the show the "most disgusting reality show on television," while '' US Weekly'' gave the series a two star rating, stating "afflictions are fascinating, but too much time is spent gawking at their odd behavior as opposed to treating it. Only in the final moments do therapists pay a visit, and they oversimplify things by suggesting exercise and journaling!" ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

'' called the series "maybe the most entertaining freak show on television now, and definitely the most guilt-free one" noting that "the lack of hand-wringing feels deliciously subversive."

Authenticity

Specific cases on the show have raised concerns that at least some portrayals are fictional or falsified. For example, the large number of Pica-like cases where subjects claim they consume materials that are known to be fatal when swallowed in the quantities shown. These include gasoline,

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...

(contained in VapoRub), broken glass, and other non-food objects. In a recent Reddit post, Kesha who appeared in the 1st episode has revealed that producers had "encouraged situational storylines and fed lines to her friends." Producers were also heavily careless and wanted "ratings & crazy addictions", Kesha also revealed that the backstories were fake and that it had actually started from a "health blog."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:My Strange Addiction 2010s American documentary television series 2010 American television series debuts 2015 American television series endings English-language television shows TLC (TV network) original programming Works about addiction