Monday 5 July 2010

Facts of life

Step 1: DENIAL (Who me? No No. I could not do that)

Step 2: PRETENSION OF CURIOSITY (Do you think it was really me? Maybe it was x who was also there)

Step 3: SHEEPISH ACCEPTANCE (You know, it's been there for quite some time now)



Now for a few seconds, I would have held your undivided attention at the same time made you think of a thousand different situations which could have initiated the same three steps.

Well, these three steps comes from a person who SNORES and avoids confrontation. Almost everyone snores and most often not many accept that they do so. A simple act of making bizarre sounds while sleeping does not appeal to anyone (even if it is in an unconscious state of sleep). Recently I found out that even small children make sounds similar to snoring. All of us love being prim and proper even whilst sleeping but of course, we cannot be on the vigil.

To add to this three steps, it would also be interesting to analyse the different stages of this friendly act  through the years of my existence. In the eighties, while I was growing up, my grandmother would remark at a person who was snoring: "Looks like he had a very tiring day. See! how he is snoring. Don't wake him up."

After a decade, doctors researched this topic and came out with the results that if the wind pipe had some congestion, then it affected breathing and caused snoring. There was nothing to worry about that. Great news.

Bang, came the new millennium with it's sophisticated equipment and high-end researches. 'Sleep-apnea' is what it is referred to in medical terms with corrective surgery, if it gets too loud or hard to cope with. Our community web page, Wikipedia even offers tips to partners with spouses who snore -- Earmuffs with extra padding (!!!!!)

But after all this, I wonder why it is hard for a person to accept that they snore. Most of my family members whom I accost with snoring, follow the three steps mentioned above religiously. As I type this, I think aloud for myself as well. Why do I refuse to accept that I sometimes do snore. Is it a pathological desire to give a picture of the eternal 'sleeping-beauty' who looked lovely even as she slept or is it a picture of ourselves that does not make any unpleasant noises while sleeping, an unconscious state where one is laid bare of all the pretensions and staying-on-guard. It can be anything. How easy it is to lie and utter a 'NO' instead of calmly saying: "Yes I do snore." After all it's free will. Why make an issue of snoring and it's denials.On second thoughts, one does not know what happens while sleeping, maybe the other person is lying to pull our legs. Sounds convincing. Hmmm.

Image courtesy: Internet

13 comments:

  1. I used to suffer with "Sleep Apnoea" and used to stop breathing while I was in a deep sleep....although I never snored, I used to wake up gasping for breath, and getting myself into a panic, but then I found out that it had something to do with a flap of skin at the back of the throat. I had my tonsils and adenoids removed, and no more worries!
    So, snoring has many different causes, and yes, even nasal children snore!
    Now I sleep a lot better, but medicine changes and now you can buy these strips that you stick over your nose to keep your air-passages clear, but remember to take them of in the morning....or you will spend the day looking pretty silly!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a quite different point of view.
    I do agree that we follow those three steps you mentioned above, but maybe it's because we simply didn't expect it. It's like believing your whole life that your face is perfectly clear, and then, all of a sudden, someone points out that you have a big brown spot you never saw before. I guess it's the same. Or maybe because we cannot imagine what we actually do while sleeping so if anyone points out anything we do during that period it will struck us as surprising.

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh maha makes a good point...i dont think any of us wants to be guilty and immediately go on the defensive when something with potential negative conotations is presented about us..i used to snore pretty heavily but once i lost weight, it cleared a lot of it up..

    ReplyDelete
  4. Like with any unpleasant condition, it seemed human and natural to wish to conceal the snoring.

    Nowadays, since it is a treatable condition, I believe most people no longer go through the denial and defensive stages.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well, Susan... we are creatures of denial! But I have to say that I've never heard myself snore, because I'm sleeping, of course. But if someone ever told me I was snoring, my first reaction, without thinking, would be surprise followed by immediate denial. Maybe... after a few moments of quiet thought... I would ask the details. But most definitely, I would, in the first place, jump and say that it was not true that I snore... absolutely not... and why don't we put a lid on it?

    It seems like, in most instances, we are geared to want to protect ourselves, not only from physical harm, but also from emotional stress. That's why we came up with denial as a coping mechanism. And it saves us (or so we think) every time!

    Nice idea for another great post, Susan!

    Nevine

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well.. i know I snore... but it so happen that the person sleeping next to me always snores more than I do- for sure ... Why? I couln't say....

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. First off, I love the image Susan...made me laugh out loud!
    My papa snores a lot. But we all love him for never having denied that he does!
    There have been instances when we have had some relatives or guests planning to stay overnight and mamma getting all concerned over them getting disturbed by papa's snoring :D Papa would put her concerns at rest by joking about his habit and have everyone in on the secret ;)
    But yes had it been me in his place , I think I would have denied it in the first place :P hahaha!

    nice read :)
    love and best regards
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Heather:

    I am glad that you are fine now. Thanks for sharing a personal experience with us. It enables us to feel a notch closer.

    Maha:

    Your point of view is absolutely logical, Maha. Yeah, we have perceptions about ourselves and when someone points something out, we are on the defense.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Brian:

    Humans are not quite comfortable with their own flaws. But the topic in context can definitely be treated. But in India, people still don't take snoring seriously and therefore bypass it. Some cultural trappings here at play!

    DUTA:

    DUTA as I told Brian, people here don't much take snoring seriously so as to see a doctor and treat it. It's part of life which no one is comfortable nor scared about.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nevine:

    Protect ourselves, that too fiercely. I read somewhere that if we take ourselves too seriously, we miss out the funny intervals. How many times I have fought to disprove someone's observation about me!!!!

    Dulce:

    You are the sweetest dear one. You snore and accept it. I wonder how sweet Dulce might look while sleeping and snoring. 8 words:
    A. D. O. R. A. B. L. E.

    Joy always :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. He hee heeeee.. I snore. It gets embarrassing when you sleep while travelling.. you snore on planes, trains.. etc.. surprisingly.. I don't snore while travelling. Subconscious control maybe.. but sports trips.. I was made to sleep last =(

    I crossed all the stages and am finally okay with Snoooooring. =)

    zzzzzZZZ happy snoring!Nice funny post!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. First off, I love the image Susan...made me laugh out loud!
    My papa snores a lot. But we all love him for never having denied that he does!
    There have been instances when we have had some relatives or guests planning to stay overnight and mamma getting all concerned over them getting disturbed by papa's snoring :D Papa would put her concerns at rest by joking about his habit and have everyone in on the secret ;)
    But yes had it been me in his place , I think I would have denied it in the first place :P hahaha!

    nice read :)
    love and best regards
    :)
    p.s. I am re-posting this comment Susan. Had posted it yesterday but it was not showing :( :( hope it does today...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ruchi:

    The comment problem was all over Blogger yesterday. I am glad it is fine now. Anyway I have two lovely comments from you.

    Have a good night.

    Sameera:

    I am happy that you are so very casual about it. A rarity which you share with Ruchi's father! Great :)

    Joy and peace always.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails