A woman has been left at her wits’ end over her boyfriend’s obsession with a jawline exercise dubbed ‘mewing’.
Writing on Reddit’s relationship advice forum, the 23-year-old said: ‘My boyfriend (22) has stopped talking to/interacting with me completely because of mewing. I understand this sounds insane, but I am going crazy.’
She claimed her significant other started mewing as a joke, but the habit morphed into something more.
She added: ‘He’s gone as far as texting me during our time together just so he doesn’t have to speak to me and can continue mewing. He hardly eats, drinks or anything that would cause him to no longer be able to do it.
‘My final straw was this weekend, I was cleaning up around the house and found pamphlets stashed away teaching people how to mew. Not only is he doing it all the time himself, but he’s now spending all of his free time handing these booklets out to strangers.’
For those who are new to ‘mewing’ it is a technique named after British orthodontist John Mew, who claimed that misaligned bites and dental problems could be fixed by muscle exercises and physiotherapy dubbed ‘orthotics’.
His son Michael Mew turned the theory into a viral trend by the name of ‘mewing’, which became adopted by millions of teenagers.
Dr Michael Mew has recently been barred from practice after he shared ‘inappropriate and misleading’ information on the controversial dentistry practice on YouTube and Tiktok, where his videos have been viewed over 1bn times.
According to the Daily Mail, it was heard the dentist, who is the only orthotropic practitioner in the UK, advised children against having braces, recommending neck gear and expanders instead so their teeth could ‘align naturally’.
The General Dental Council told a professional conduct panel that his advice caused ‘harm’ to two young patients, with one boy suffering ‘seizure-like episodes’ after receiving treatment.
So, significant cause for concern.
Explaining her own situation, the frustrated girlfriend continued her post by saying that in the few weeks since her boyfriend took up mewing, it has ‘basically ruined [their] relationship.’
‘I literally don’t know what to do and even after countless conversations begging him to stop, I’m at a loss.’
Many people took to the comments to share their thoughts on the situation, withone calling it ‘ridiculous.’
Another urged her to dump him, proclaiming: ‘You’re 23 and should be having fun right now. Throw the whole man away.’
A third replied: ‘If you don’t live with him, just tell him you’ll speak when he’s done mewing. Leave any texts on read. Effectively, move on with your life.’
Some on Reddit were also quite concerned by his change in behaviour, with one user urging the couple to seek expert help.
They added: ‘I would recommend he speak with a mental health professional. Without more information, it’s hard to say, but this level of intensity that is interfering with his functioning and relationships combined with his age are concerning.’
This article was originally published November 20, 2023.
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