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Sleep
: I STILL can't sleep if the wardrobe doors are open - can you?
(93 messages)
Dh has to have the ensuite door shut before getting into bed... so between us there is much shutting of doors taking place before anything else gets done in our bedroom.<sigh>
LOL I still close the wardrobe doors every night and the kids too Same with the curtains and now got use to sleeping with the landing light on cos of dc. Can`t sleep without a light at night if we are away without dcs .
Same here. And I always pull the covers right up over my head (much to DH's annoyance) in case anything ruffles my hair - which DID happen once, I swear!
Me too! Few years ago my mum admitted that she also has to have the wardrobe doors shut, so clearly the daft woman passed her phobia on to me and we are now all doing the same. Long live the Bogeyman! (I claim it is tidyness.)
OMG, that is hilarious - I am exactly the same. Wardrobe doors shut, deffo and a can't stick my feet out of the bed either, must be neatly tucked under duvet, you never know what might grab you and suck you under the bed never to be seen again!!
When I was a student I rented a furnished house one year which had NO WARDROBES WHATSOEVER in it. When pushed, the landlord admitted he had A Problem With Wardrobes and refused to have them in any of his houses.
I thought everybody had a check list, - wardrobe doors shut - en-suite door shut (and bathroom too!) - bedroom door pushed as shut as possible without being properly shut (so DC can still get the door open in the night) - landing lamp on - drawers closed - handbag has to be next to the bed (in case we have to evacuate in a hurry and I need keys, cash, cards etc) - curtains properly closed and straight - children's wardrobes and drawers also shut
Seeing it all written down, I would agree that perhaps I am definitely the wrong side of loopy.
I can't sleep with any part of my body hanging over the edge of the bed ever since watching an episode of that Mulder and Scully thing years ago (can't rememberwhat it was called) where something came from under the bed an was snatching people.
Got to have all doors closed, blankets pulled up and tucked in except for a space to just fit my foot out - not leg just foot. All other doors in house must be shut too, except outside doors. Leave those open for the dogs. Don't care about curtains or windows being open though. But DH is obsessed with the curtains covering all gaps properly.
I don't have to do the checking under the bed thing as we have a divan. Saves time on the checklist.
I agree with you MMJ about the glass of water too. Do you ever drink any of it because I rarely take more than a sip so it is a bit of mad of me to be so obsessive about it really.
and can't look downstairs as I walk past the top of them to go to the loo in the dark in the night - ever since watching the crappy film "The Boogeyman" where someone glances down the stairs and sees the boogeyman standing there, in the time she takes to turn away and then look back quickly as she registers the thing - it is there, at the top of the stairs - in her face - aaarrrgghhhh!!!!
When I was a teenager I stayed with friends of my parents to mind their spoiled brat kid for a month. They lived in the middle of NOWHERE, surrounded by FORESTS. The family was all upstairs and I was made to sleep downstairs in a big room all by myself.
IT WAS PITCH BLAAAAAAAACCCCKKKKK at night.
I was naturally terrified so I'd turn on the light in the wardrobe so not to be afraid.
Well the bitch mum decided I was wasting all their millions having one solitary bulb on all night and read me the riot act. I kept doing it because I was terrified but she started coming down and turning it off and yelling at me.
Wowzers, I'm a very strange. All wardrobe doors must be shut at night. But all other room doors must be OPEN!! I can't bear shut doors in case monsters are hiding BEHIND them. This is a bit difficult when people come to visit and I have to remember not to shower with the bathroom door open!! Trying to get into the habit of closing DD bedroom door at night, but when I go in to check on her I'm scared when opening the door in case monsters are stood behind it!! Aaaargh I'm weird!!!
I have to shut wardrobe doors too. I just thought this was normal and what everyone did! Not sure I'd worry about monsters, but it jsut looks and feels wrong. Curtains must be all straight too. This is more about light getting in though. FleeBee, you are odd...But funny! was there ever a time someone WAS behind a door? I remember my sister jumping out at me once. I was very cautious for weeks... .
It was in the States. It was a walk-in closet type jobbie. BIG one. with the doors closed and light on in there it was just enough light for me to not have convulsions of terror!
Wardrobe doors must be shut for monsters, ensuite door must be shut for monsters, and the duvet must be tucked into the bottom of the bed in case a spider comes and crawls up under the duvet and up my leg.
I must have doors and drawers shut, the curtains closed to not allow a chink of light in. Duvet must be properly tucked over my feet without draughts and pulled up around my neck - am struggling with this at the moment as I'm pregnant and really hot at night!
DH also throws his clothes at the foot of the bed - I can't bear it! I have to get up and take them off and put them on the chair otherwise I can just "feel" them near my feet!
<hatty - you too?! ) Sounds completely normal to me, MP.
Drawers and wardrobe doors have to be tightly closed, even if they are left slightly ajar it plays havoc with my karma and I can't sleep . DH thinks I am mad and will occasionally leave one door a ^tiny bit open to see if I notice (I always do).
Oh, and I absolutely hate those old dark wood, freestanding wardrobes that look as if they are about to topple on top of you, doors open or closed. They give me the creeps.
Absolutely not! DH is terrible for leaving wardrobe doors open and looking through the curtains last thing at night and not closing them property again! Main reason for closing the doors is to stop the cat getting in!
I also have to double check the doors are locked and computer switched off.
Absolutely agree. Wardrobe doors have to be firmly shut. A THING might come out. I also can't sleep without some sort of covering. If I'm wearing a nightie, I can kick the covers off but if I'm naked, I have to have a sheet over me. Can't possibly sleep naked and uncovered.
If you leave teh wardrobe door open the devil will steal your soul. That's what my big sister told me once anyway. It's no wonder we are all barking mad!
Oh yes! Wardrobe doors must be shut and I can't sleep on the window side of the bed. I have to sleep on the door side without question. That's completely normal too.
Snow leopard that's so true! I have to pull the duvet up around my neck so that the monsters can't pull it down- but it'd have to be a pretty weedy monster to be foiled by that!
To the OP. If you're mad, I'm mad too. I have to get out of bed to close any open doors/drawers and also turn off the ensuite light, if it's on. I used to sleepwalk when I was young and my sister frequently had to prevent me from climbing into cupboards in the middle of the night. I also quite often dream that I open a cupboard door and find a whole new room behind it. Yup, I'm mad.....
I can sleep with the curtains open, but if they're closed they must be tight shut with no cracks for peeking Toms. I also have to have a book and a stand-by book beside the bed plus a glass of water.
And I make sure that trousers are never draped over a chair/stand/whatever with their legs dangling apart either. This is because I'm very shortsighted, and in the gloom and grogginess of a night waking I might catch a glimpse of them and think that there was a person in the room. For the same reason I hate mirrors in the bedroom.
I'm the same! I have a little ritual before going to bed, check windows and doors. Utility room door must be shut, kitchen door open. Lounge door open, downstairs loo shut. The UR and DL are shut so that if anyone breaks in, they can't hide in there without me knowing I used to have to sleep facing the door, but can't in this house so have learnt to live with it.
I have to add this only happens when DH is working away (Mon to Fri mostly) but I have no idea why I am more relaxed when he is here as he wouldn't hear a bomb go off!
Actually this has just reminded me of something my nan used to do. If she was getting home after dark, she would always check under her bed and in the wardrobe for rogue men who had broken into her house!
I asked her once what she would do if there was a man hiding in her wardrobe/under the bed and she replied 'I have no idea, my dear' She also used to push a heavy chest up against the front door before going to sleep...actually thinking about it, poor woman must have been terrified...I know where I get it from now...thanks Nan!
There has actually been scientific research into this, and it is inherent in modern humans, a primal fear- BUT you're all weird because it is supposed to be MEN who are scared of the wardrobe being open, and women scared of something under the bed...
This is from ancient times, and sources of danger, when men would be hunting and have to go into caves, and women would be up trees being attacked from below.
Oh my God - I thought it was just me! def have a ritual before bed but I have taken it to the next level of worry. Always have keys and handbag by bed after seeing remake of Dawn of the Dead! Have also seriously thought about how to survive when the infected run amok in the streets! I get very sucked in by zombie movies
im terified of under bed monsters, at 26 its pathetic to check under bed everynite to make sure, also under no circumstance must my feet be out of the blanket/duvet, even high summer and sweating
Just read the op and didn't realise this was about fear of intruders/monsters rather than just random rituals we perform, just in case anyone was wondering why I thought someone would be hiding in the microwave. I can't look out of a window if there's pitch black outside. My parents live in the middle of nowhere and don't draw their curtains at night (downstairs). I hate it, the thought that people can be looking in and we wouldn't be able to see them. Also have a think about mirrors (only in the dark though), have this strange feeling if I look in it, it won't be my reflection looking back, very weird. Obviously watched too many horror films.
I have to have wardrobe doors and drawers shut but just because it would be untidy otherwise, don't think I'd be bothered about monsters.
I did wake dh up at 3.30 recently because I'd had a nightmare and was convinced I could hear noises and there might be in intruder though.
Thing is, I got to thinking about my sister who woke up to find an intruder had got into bed with her... it's hard to tell yourself it's nothing at 3am when you know something bad has actually happened to someone close to you. (Luckily the intruder ran off when she screamed but whole thing was terrifying, obviously.)
I'm not bothered about wardrobes, but curtains have to be drawn properly, all lights switched off, front door locked (sometimes we forget) must have checked both DD's and our bedroom door closed too.
Cannot, cannot sleep with even a crack of wardrobe left open! I also look under the bed , AND i sometimes even check inside the wardrobe just in case anyone is lurking within...I have improved however. I used to have to check behind every, door, inside every wardrobe and under each bed in the house before going to sleep, luckily we only have a small house..and i still do if dp is away Oh and i'm the same as lilsymummy- feet must never be left out of duvet.
OMG edam! I would now be able to sleep knowing that had happened to somebody close to me!!
I have to have the duvet pulled right up to my neck too, my dp drives me mad because he untucks all of his side of the bed so he can hang hos feet out!
Also if I go to the bathroom in the night I can't look into the mirror without the light on for fear of the candyman (sounds nice but he really isn't!!)
Hilarious OrmIrian, I do that too, dp has to be nearest the door, otherwise I feel really exposed. He can sacrifice himself if anyone comes in. Lived with a girl once who used to come in really pissed from a night out and leave the front door wide open and we lived in a really dodgy area of east end london. Could have been murdered in our beds countless times.
Well, you don't have much choice, really, Boniface, unless you want to stay awake for the rest of your life. And it's my sister who needs sympathy, not me - poor girl has been on anti-ds for the past four years since it happened.