The Somnambulist

Have I ever mentioned my sleep-walking?  It's another facet of my sleep disorder which is partly bipolar, partly trauma related, and probably partly it's own animal.  I don't do it  much anymore.  When I was a kid I did it quite a bit.  The worst was a period of time when I would go and open the basement door every night.  We bred AKC puppies and we had a litter in there, so I put quite a bit of income at risk.  Finally my father saw me go down the stairs one night and followed me and found me opening the door then going back to bed.  I have no memory whatsoever.

 In the years I was a camp counselor we used to go on short trips for our breaks.  Once we went to Ocean City, college kid style.  We checked 6 people into a room saying it was for 2.  Dive would be a compliment for that place.  There were literally holes in the walls that contained things like used bars of soap.   The room was filthy and so tiny we barely got 6 people inside of it, much less comfortable.  The first night everyone went out drinking but me.  I didn't drink and I had just had a child who slept only a couple hours a night for 11 days.  I wanted nothing but sleep.  I vividly remember that I was wearing a red and white striped tank top and black shorts.  No bra or anything.  I woke up walking down the hallway of that scary, scary place with a great deal of exposure.  It's a miracle nobody assaulted me; I would have been defenseless.

There have been other times I've done it.  Sometimes I'll suspect it because something makes no sense, but I wont' know.  Other times I'm pretty certain, like the time I couldn't find my cat in the morning because I'd shut her in the garage (where I never make her go) during the night.  No clue why.

I haven't been aware of doing it in a long time, probably since Seroquel normalized my sleep so much more than anything in the past.  Well, I've done it again.  After a dental appointment confirmed that I'm chipping teeth and had broken off a bonded repair because I've not been wearing my bite guard I pulled it back out the other night.  It disappeared during the night, which happens sometimes because I'll pull it out and throw it and since it is clear it takes time to find it.  I've searched several times and tonight stripped the bed looking for it.  For some reason I finally decided to check the thing it soaks in, and in my sleep the other night I must have filled the holder with water, added efferdent and put the thing in there and sealed it.  Excellent way to hide it from myself.  I know I woke up wondering where it was, so I did that wih no consciousness at all.

I am very talented.