Member-only story
Know Why It’s Hard to Stay Home? Blame It On Your Brain
The craving to connect is hot-wired into you
Cravings Are Almost Universal
Have you ever had a craving? An if-I-don’t-get-some-popcorn-RIGHT-NOW-I’m-gonna-go-rob a-movie-theatre-kind-of-urge? You can almost taste the butter. You can feel the puffy texture in your mouth. You can hear the crunch of kernels as you cram a greasy handful into your mouth. Once you’ve started thinking about it, It’s hard to stop. You want it. You need it.
You know what I mean.
Any woman who’s ever been pregnant understands the intensity of a craving for funky food and strange culinary combinations. (Remember pickles? Rootbeer floats? Potato salad? Peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches?)
My dad used to say his mother craved ashes when she was pregnant with him. I never quite believed him until I discovered a food disorder called “pica” that causes people to have cravings for non-food items like dirt or chalk. It sometimes affects pregnant women, thus my grandmother’s long-ago urge to eat ashes. (It’s a hard mental picture to erase. I see my sweet Maw-Maw sticking a spoon in the fireplace, smearing it around, and greedily licking it as she brings it to her mouth, ashes graying her lips.)
