...to think this woman was being ridiculous

[MrsCosmopifairylight]

I was out shopping yesterday in a small local branch of a chain store. The store has a lift and a flight of stairs.

I was coming up the stairs with my 3 year old (who was a bit ahead of me), and there was a woman at the top of the staircase.

Woman at top of staircase was peering down, anxiously, holding onto the rail. I assumed she was nervous about falling, so asked DD to stop and move aside so the woman could come down the stairs.

Woman remained at the top of the stairs, and then a young boy passed me and DD, and started to go up. Woman appeared even more anxious.

I said we'd stop to let her pass, so she could come down.
Then she said to us, and to young boy (who was headed to where she was) "I'm very superstitious. Please can you go back downstairs so I don't have to pass you?"

I rolled my eyes and stomped past her, with DD. Woman shot me nasty glares.

There was a shop assistant upstairs, about to approach the woman, but as the stairs were now "safe" she'd headed off to leave the shop.

If she was that bothered why the fuck didn't she use the lift? Or why didn't she just wait for other people to come up the stairs?

I don't understand superstition and I find it incredibly frustrating when there is no rational explanation for this sort of behaviour.

Before I get totally flamed, I've a friend with a number of mental health issues including OCD. She advises me that she has issues with things, and I accept these. However, she would NOT ask other people to go out of their way to accommodate her needs. If she needed to not pass people on a staircase then she'd get in a lift.

Bulbasur you make so much sense!

Personally if it were me I'd have indulged her to let her come back down or found another route, hard with a 3 year old though...

I had a friend (lovely woman) who every time we were on escalators had a panic attack (not as such but it scared her), this would have made more sense had she not been to places like USA a lot (her mother was American) where there must have been tons of them there. She was also prone to overexaggerating her depression issues (she's since overcome them to manage a shop) but for years everyone had to pander to her whims. This was the woman who hated having her photograph taken/seeing them yet her FB page is full of photos of her, selfies etc.

I agree people need therapy for anxiety situations like this as not everyone will be understanding. Oh and before anyone starts, I've had anxiety attacks, panic attacks all dealt with by medication/therapy etc so I know exactly how it feels.

Absolutely no way would I have indulged her and gone back down the stairs when I was already nearly at the top. Especially with a small child with me.

That's just strange.

Again, thanks for all the thoughts and insights.
I'm leaving this thread now, and shall revise my eye-rolling to an acceptable level.

I agree people need therapy for anxiety situations like this as not everyone will be understanding. Oh and before anyone starts, I've had anxiety attacks, panic attacks all dealt with by medication/therapy etc so I know exactly how it feels.

Ditto.

Also, keep in mind catering to anxiety just makes it worse. You'd be personally doing her more harm than good in the long run if you went back down. My GAD didn't get better until I started taking meds and doing the things that made me anxious and then my brain realized "Oh yeah, this isn't really scary after all".

I'm going to just assume she was a snappy lady though. I doubt she had an anxiety disorder, and even if she had she still shouldn't be acting like that.

Bulbasur again you make so make sense!

It's so true that catering to the anxiety DOES make it worse for the sufferer. what if there were a fire or emergency? would she then not try and make her own way down, wait for firefighters and risk her life (provided fire not below her) rather than be brave and walk down...

i recall when I had anxiety attacks I truly did feel terrified but the worst thing my mother could've done (I was 13 onwards) was to leave me at home and inside, instead where possible I went out for walks with her, shopping etc, met people. I also was prescribed beta blockers for a short time which helped and it was explained to me the fight and flight method, that made much more sense to me when I knew that eg if I had lift a car off a child (my child if I had one) then natural anxiety/strength would kick in to enable me to do so and my own anxiety was mostly something I could/could not control etc... blah blah!

I'm not going to speculate on whether she was snappy or had an anxiety disorder or not... I've come across some noticeably anxious people who are quite accommodating towards others, just depends on the person/situation.

I've never heard of this superstition before.

I have never heard of that superstition and it's utterly ridiculous. YANBU.

I have never heard of that superstition and it's utterly ridiculous
Well, that's all right, then. No-one need bother any more.

My mother and grandmother both knew this superstition. Stairs are liminal, transitional places, you pass from up to down, down to up, they aren't destinations. By passing another being in a liminal place, you run the risk of your souls interchanging.

There is a further risk that spirits waiting on the stairs might take advantage of the souls' confusion during the passing, and slip in, leaving your soul homeless.

I don't believe it. But you can imagine that if someone does believe it, passing on the stairs can seem like a big thing.