People write advice columns when they are at the end of their rope. As a result, scanning the advice columns provides a cross-section of years of human tragedy. That’s the feeling we got when we saw this question by someone who wanted to try to erase all the teasing that they and their siblings gave to their mother for snoring.
We often talk about the problems snoring can cause in romantic relationships, but it’s important to remember that it can impact the relationships between parents and children, too. There’s no way to turn back the clock and undo what you’ve done, so it’s important that you handle snoring right from the beginning.
Loud Snoring Leads to Teasing
The person writing in as “Restless Nights” said that they and their siblings would regularly make fun of their mom’s snoring. They said, “the noise seemingly could wake the dead,” and as a result, the snoring got turned into “one of our favorite family jokes.”
Teasing Leads to Anxiety and Guilt
It was only years later that Restless Nights learned that their mother almost didn’t go on a trip to Italy with friends because she was afraid she would snore. Her fear of snoring further led to anxiety, keeping the mother up at night.
This, in turn, made the correspondent feel guilty. They tried to play down the importance of snoring, but the mother can’t accept that now–she doesn’t believe new statements that her snoring isn’t bad. Restless Nights now wants to make up for all the years of teasing.
You Don’t Get a Second Chance to Deal with Snoring
The advice columnist, Annie, doesn’t really have any good insight into handling this problem. Annie says that we shouldn’t feel guilty over spilled milk, basically, and should try to focus on things the mother did right as they were growing up to help the mother feel more confidence and secure.
However, it’s important to note that this could have been much worse. A few years ago, we read an emotional reflective piece from a man who’d lost his father at a young age partly due to sleep apnea. That’s a cause for regret where there’s actually nothing you can do to reverse the effect: they are gone forever.
That’s why it’s so important to make sure you handle your loved one’s snoring right. While it’s tempting to treat snoring as a joke, don’t. While snoring might seem funny, it’s potentially the sign of a deadly condition.
And while it might be tempting to just ignore or cope with snoring, this isn’t right, either. Snoring solutions that don’t actually address the snoring (like using earplugs or moving to a different room) still leave your loved one exposed to risk.
Instead, it’s important to talk to a loved one about their snoring. Encourage them to get a sleep test to find out if they have simple snoring or if they have sleep apnea. In either case, support them in getting appropriate treatment so that they–and you–can rest easier and make the most of these precious days together. That way, you can look back with joy and comfort–not regret and loss.
Let Us Help Your Family
Snoring doesn’t just affect one person. When you’re a snorer, it impacts the entire family. And it sometimes takes the entire family to come up with a good solution.
If you have a snorer in your family, we can help them get the help they need. Please call (402) 493-4175 today for an appointment with a sleep dentist at the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center of Omaha.
