Life
Do evening naps make you indescribably sad? Have you ever gotten vertigo when you're lying down, perfectly still? Does it feel like your ears "reset" themselves sometimes? These are just a few of the unique sensations described on Reddit in a post that blew up overnight on Tuesday. If you've wondered whether other people experience life in the same way you do, this is the post for you.
It all started with a simple question posted on Ask Reddit: "What's a sensation that you're unsure if other people experience?" In less than a day, more than 37,000 users had commented on the post, describing feelings they weren't sure happened to other people and commiserating when they found someone who experienced the same thing. Sometimes, it was far more than a single person. From out-of-body experiences to hallucinations just before sleep, some comments brought together literally hundreds of people who had no idea others felt the same way.
This isn't actually the first time this question has been asked. Around this time last year, Reddit user Umikaloo created the exact same post on Ask Reddit, and it wound up being equally popular.
The lesson? None of us are as unique as we might think. Whether that's a good or a bad thing depends on the sensation in question, I suppose. The only way to find out is to read through the thread yourself, or check out the highlights below.
1
Evening Naps
Evening naps shouldn't be any different than other ones, but somehow, waking up to total darkness is The Worst. As one Reddit user explained in a comment, "It's worse when you just go and have an afternoon nap and then wake up in the dark. There's a weird feeling of isolation and unreality to it."
2
Time To Nope
Have you ever felt the sudden, inexplicable urge to nope out of a situation? Some users suggested that it might be the result of the "fear frequency," a sound wave just outside of human hearing range that induces anxiety.
4
Post-Story Depression
What are you supposed to do now that you've said goodbye to the characters you've grown so close to? (Lay around and reread the book, obviously.)
5
Phantom Noises
If you hear intermittent "phantom sounds" like ringing, buzzing, or roaring in your ears, you might just have tinnitus. According to the Mayo Clinic, a common cause is inner ear damage from exposure to loud noise, but that isn't always the case. Judging from the many, many responses to this post, tinnitus is super common.
7
Sleepy, Sleepy Vertigo
One user replied to suggest benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a condition that causes sudden vertigo when crystals in the inner ear accumulate in your semicircular canals. According to the Vestibular Disorders Association, this interferes with your brain's ability to sense head motion and can cause dizziness in certain positions.
8
Depersonalization
Welcome to depersonalization, a feeling of detachment from your body or thoughts. It's not an uncommon feeling; the only problem arises when it is persistent or repeated.
9
"Tickle Thumb"
Any joke that makes you laugh so hard you lose control of your body is one worth telling.
12
Painful Eyelashes
Add eyelashes to the list of body parts you never knew you should worry about.
14
Hatred Of Clinking Silverware
For some people, it's nails on a chalkboard. For others, it's unloading the dishwasher. To each their own.
16
Glimpses Of Other Lives
One of the strangest realizations of growing up is understanding that it's impossible to get to know everyone you meet.
17
Out Of Proportion
Between this post and all the others about falling asleep, it's safe to say that your brain does weird things when it's making the journey to dreamland.
