The classic remedy for stress is, of course, to get blitzed on booze. Then there’s chocolate. Or there’s just plain food – eat lots and you’ll feel happy.
But whenever Teresa Widener, 45, from Bedford, Virginia, feels a bit stressed or down at the mouth she swallows a handful of rocks.
She’s felt quite a lot of stress over the past 20 years, eating a kilo and a half of rocks a week – or about 1.5 tonnes in total. That’s about the same weight as a large hippopotamus.
She said: “Over the last 20 years I’ve eaten on average three pounds of rocks each week.
“It fluctuates depending on how I feel. If I feel down then I eat lots more because it comforts me.
“If I know I have some at my house I feel better, just knowing they’re there. Like a comfort, they’re there for me when I’m upset.”
While cooking is not a problem – she eats her rocks raw – selecting the right ones is a bit of an art. She prefers more brittle rocks that break up easily, and flavour is also a factor.
“I pick the ones I like the look of,” she added. “I like the earthy flavour of them so sometimes I just suck the mud straight off them too.”
She added: “I’ve never had any medical problems because of the rocks but I don’t go to the toilet too often and my tummy hurts a little sometimes.”