I'm not sure quite how it got started, but I was kind of a sensitive kid. Some kids are afraid of the dark, others, monsters. I was terrified of those and of having nightmares. It was so difficult for me to fall asleep, for fear that I would have a nightmare. To comfort myself, I either asked (or made) my sister sleep in my room, slept on the floor in my parents' room, or in a nest of blankets in the hall outside their room. (I wasn't kidding about the subject of this post).
For many years, anything disturbing I saw would haunt me at night. I have my nearly-photographic memory to thank for that. In order to get some sleep, I'd "watch" a movie in my head until I fell asleep. Eventually I grew out of the need for closeness and nightlights, but some things still trouble me. I still have a picture in my head of a corpse I saw while learning about civil rights in 8th Grade.
More neuroses: I picked out a daybed so that I would be "protected" on three sides, even though my bed was always against the wall. I took turns putting socks on each foot, because I didn't want one sock to feel bad. I still have to have all closet doors shut before I can comfortably go to bed.
I'm sure there are others, but I'm just repressing them. If you always thought there was something "off" about me, you were right.
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