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We'll admit it: When we heard about this we assumed it was some big-haired Texas lady who couldn't leave the house without a blow-out. But it's actually a woman who depends on her blow dryer to sleep at night. (She is one of the odd new "addicts" on TLC's wondrous new show "My Strange Addiction.")Every night since she was 8 years old, Lori Broady, 31, has plugged in a blow dryer and taken it to bed with her so she could fall asleep to soothing hot air. Why she doesn't just plug in a fan probably became obvious on a hot July night when she had her Conair blasting her in the face despite 80-degree warmth outside -- she's addicted to it. It's a method of "self-soothing," much like thumb-sucking or thumb-twiddling or any of the other myriad things people do with their thumbs when their nervous.
Self-soothing behaviors help relieve stress and grant a sense of control ... oh, and help release a little bit of sweet, sweet dopamine, which explains why people repeat them so often they become habit. Having some sort of self-soothing habit isn't weird, but we recommend sticking with one that doesn't increase your chances of dying in a mattress fire.
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Wednesday 22 December
By KATHE BROWN
then again, we don't see her picture -- or her hair -- perhaps that is just what the doctor ordered -- no pun intended.
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Wednesday 22 December
By Shiloh
Things people do with their thumbs when their nervous.
Of course it should be "when they're nervous". As little as 20 years ago you wouldn't see mistakes like this in the media. Today you see it everywhere. Dumbing down of America? Hard to take articles seriously when grammar is unimportant.
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Wednesday 22 December
By gene
yes - -their - they're - there - where are the damn English teachers?
Thursday 23 December
By fathertimema
Who cares about good grammer?? I would rather be good with my hands fixing my car or repairing my computer. I won't want to be a worthless pen pusher who could not put a nail in stright. You people who complain about bad english are the ones who are worthless but want to make your selves look good by complaining......
Tuesday 28 December
By Katie
fathertimema- If you work with your hands for a living, no, grammar may not be the most imporant ability to you. But for someone (like this author) who spends their days with words- yes, they should learn the difference between they're, their, and there.
You look unprofessional and quite honestly, dumb, when you don't bother to proofread something that is going to be seen by countless people.
Wednesday 22 December
By mckenz707
I ALWAYS HAVE MY FAN ON AT NIGHT SET ON A LOW SETTING. IN THE SUMMER WHEN IT'S HOT, IT FACES ME. IN THE WINTER, ITS FACED AWAY FROM ME. IT IS REALLY HARD TO SLEEP IF I DON'T HAVE THIS NOISE AT NIGHT.
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Wednesday 22 December
By Sandy
For years, my son wanted a fan blowing on him when he went to sleep. I thought it was a little strange but harmless enough. Interesting that you like the same thing.
Wednesday 22 December
By cjb
omg me too in the winter i put both the heater and the fan cuz i cant sleep if i dont have the noise of the fan lol
Thursday 23 December
By Diana
My husband also does this, I've tried everything to break him of it. I need silence to sleep or natural sounds(rain, crickets). I even went so far as to buy him one of the nature sound machines to try. Which was hard to find since I needed one that came as close to reality as I could find. So now I have that and the fan going all night. If I turn either down/on low, he gets up and turns them to high/fullest volume. This has made it impossible for me to sleep through the night, so while he's getting a good night sleep...I'm up and down all night from the noise. I've tried everything including sleeping pills, ear plugs, to no avail. Now it's effecting my health after dealing with it for years. He also refuses to allow me to sleep in another room; said he can't sleep...I don't understand how anyone can quiet their mind and relax with noise going all night after having it all day.
Wednesday 22 December
By chris
i have had it with this kind of nonsense. this is just plain idiotic.
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Wednesday 22 December
By Joann R
I actually knew a woman who had this. Our company sent us out of town for extended periods of time. She didn't use a blow dryer for her hair and when she got upset she would come and "borrow" mine. I went through 2 blow dryers that summer before I finally bought her one just so she would leave mine alone. I was scared to death she would set the hotel on fire, she left it on for hours.
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Wednesday 22 December
By mike hunt
who doesn't like getting blown?
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Wednesday 22 December
By C
I was going to remark on the "when their nervous" part, but I read some of the other comments before I did. Thank you to you all who posted about this already. It really annoys me, especially with the media, who I would think should know better.
But I will admit, that I do not know when to use "who" and "whom".
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Thursday 23 December
By cricket
If it's he or she, it's who; if it's him or her it's whom:)
Wednesday 22 December
By Gaile
Thank you for this article. I have spent the past 17 years wondering why my son can't sleep without a fan on in the summer and a humidifier humming in his room in the winter. I have brought him to several doctors and had his hearing checked by specialist with no abnormal problems. I believe he needs "white noise" to sooth him to sleep.
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Thursday 23 December
By me me me
i have to have a fan on to sleep too i have tried the sleep noise machines but those didnt help theres something soothing in the gentle whir of the fan now that im going through menopause its not only for the noise but the hot flashes. the hair dryer is a bit dangerous
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Thursday 23 December
By frank
President Amelda Marcos of the Philipine Islands went shopping for shoes when she got stressed out from Politics.................................result was 1200 pair of shoes in seven closets in the Palace.............................but she felt better and worked much better so be it ! Obsessive behaviors to relieve stress and anxiety are actually beneficial I suppose if they pose no danger or threat to
health and life.
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Thursday 23 December
By DONNA HAGERTY
EMERALD CATRON, WHO WAS YOUR ENGLISH TEACHER?????
YES, DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA IS VERY SAD! I SUGGEST, BEFORE YOU PUBLISH FUTURE STORIES, THAT YOU PURCHASE A BOOK ON CORRECT GRAMMAR.
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Thursday 23 December
By Aquilus Domini
aside from spellcheck, today's writers are left without a proof reader, so mistakes can filter into published works. quit complaining, i've seen a bloody lot of you make more idiotic mistakes in your own grammatical "correction" postings. if you're that anal retentive about grammar, you've got an obsessive disorder. everyone makes mistakes and there are more mistakes when there are no proof readers. maybe you all should be on the addiction show for being addicted to complaining about trivial things. if there is no error in fact, then other nominal errors are generally ignored in journalistic writing.
back to the topic...being addicted to a hair dryer in the bed is a bit weird, but not as weird as pica, now there's a bizarre problem.
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Thursday 23 December
By fathertimema
Its a woman doing this so it should not be strange. Shes just a head case...
Maybe shes a dog and thats the only heat she can find...
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