02.07.2003
I started reading last Sunday’s NYTimes magazine cover story just for entertainment value: it was billed as a story on parasomniacs, making them out as sufferers of an odd sleep disorder who do everything from eat raw meat to try to kill their spouses in their sleep. And there are certainly people who do this, but imagine my shock then to find, a couple pages in, my own night behavior described in the article’s inventory of parasomnia disorders. This isn’t the kind of thing I type up every day on shey.net, but anyone who’s shared a roof with me for any extended period of time can tell you that I tend to wake up screaming some nights, and then go right back to bed. I’ve always thought of it as kind of hilarious and probably a sign of some deep down horrible trauma or imbalance, but according to this article, it’s pretty common for a parasomniac, about as common as sleepwalking (uh oh, wait: sleepwalking? do i know anyone above the age of 12 who actually sleepwalks?), and at any rate, I’m not insane, at least not if that’s what’s causing it. According to one analogy, it’s just a messy reboot between waking and sleeping states, with some extra lines of code left over, and to some degree, it happens to everybody.
So that’s interesting and all, but what was also funny about this is that I’ve never read some health article before and said, god, that’s me. It all feels a little bit too Oprah - and already I feel an urge to do something stoic to purge all this nonsense, telling the whole world about my private stuff. The honest truth: I’ve always kind of liked my own moodiness, enjoyed thinking I’m maybe a little bit nuts, that everyone is, and yes, I know that’s stupid. So I think it may have even bummed me out a little to read this article. Tortured by nightly demons has a touch of romance to it that sharing a minor, common sleep disorder with millions perhaps doesn’t. But even so, for now at least it all remains appealingly mysterious. Full article.
more shey.net
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