FTB, horrible mistake?

Grenage

OP: Would you consider yourself to be an anxious person?

ferrari_girl

Hi all, thanks so much for all the really helpful and constructive replies, it is much appreciated, and sorry I haven't replied to all individually. I can assure you I'm not at the tin foil hat stage yet but I'm glad some of you find my situation amusing! :-/

I must say I'm surprised at most of the responses, I honestly thought everyone would share my concerns and think like me, I guess not. Which makes me question my sanity even more now, and id really rather not be in that position! I'll freely admit I do worry about health a lot and Im a naturally suspicious person. So for example those studies that disprove the effects of phone masts, I question who they are funded by and whose interests they are in. It's like when coca cola funded all those studies to prove sugary drinks are harmless. Sugar is the new tobacco. And who is to say phone masts are not the next scandal. Anyway I digress, I feel like the thread is going off topic now but its raised a really interesting debate nonetheless and made me realise maybe there are some deeper issues at play.

I do have a new mattress but its not memory foam, I despise those things! I've never had heat issues on any other mattresses so I'm not convinced but will maybe try sleeping elsewhere and see if it makes a difference.

[Deleted User]

EM sensitivity doesn't really make much sense to me. The human body doesn't use 'wires' in the sense that electronics do. Our nerves move information around our bodies through 'waves' of chemicals. (http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-transmission-of-nerve-impulses.html). We might, potentially, have some magnetoreception through cryptochrome in the eye.. but we're not pigeons and it's hideously unlikely.

The 'nocebo' can be powerful. (The opposite of placebo, where you get a negative effect). It's not mental illness; it's just how our bodies interpret our world and react to it.

Look, if you don't like the place, you obviously can't live there long term. So your options are i) some treatment, e.g. hypnotherapy, so you CAN live there - OR... sell up, move somewhere else. Brexit is screwing with prices, and you're going to have to hope we Remain or prices will dive and you could end up in negative equity.

e13

ferrari_girl wrote: »

Hi all, thanks so much for all the really helpful and constructive replies, it is much appreciated, and sorry I haven't replied to all individually. I can assure you I'm not at the tin foil hat stage yet but I'm glad some of you find my situation amusing! :-/

I must say I'm surprised at most of the responses, I honestly thought everyone would share my concerns and think like me, I guess not. Which makes me question my sanity even more now, and id really rather not be in that position! I'll freely admit I do worry about health a lot and Im a naturally suspicious person. So for example those studies that disprove the effects of phone masts, I question who they are funded by and whose interests they are in. It's like when coca cola funded all those studies to prove sugary drinks are harmless. Sugar is the new tobacco. And who is to say phone masts are not the next scandal. Anyway I digress, I feel like the thread is going off topic now but its raised a really interesting debate nonetheless and made me realise maybe there are some deeper issues at play.

I do have a new mattress but its not memory foam, I despise those things! I've never had heat issues on any other mattresses so I'm not convinced but will maybe try sleeping elsewhere and see if it makes a difference.

I guess the reason that people have a particular lack of concern over mobile phone masts is likely to be because your description of "Electromagnetic sensitivity" seems implausible due to the fact that radio waves, light, heat etc are all forms of "Electromagnetic Radiation". Hence unless you were also highly sensitive to light then the likelyhood of sensitivity is minimal.

I studied both physics and biology at university, and I wouldn't view it as terribly plausible honestly - just from a logic perspective. I would agree with you about being really careful about where you read your studies, but with eg tobacco, you would find that there were many many studies not by the tobacco industry showing they were dangerous. Here, we really don't see a similar distribution of scientific research.

I really really hope you can find something to solve this problem, as it does sound like a nightmare!

nkkingston

If you can record the temperature in your room overnight you may be surprised (though it might require investing in a fancy thermometer). Our last flat was scorching at 3am every night: that was when the boiler came on. And the boiler in the flat below, and to the left and to the right, and above... Even in winter we kept the window open and went to bed absolutely freezing, because neither of us wanted to get up at 3am to cool the room down when it inevitably overheated. Because it was a rental there was little we could do about the boiler (didn't even have instructions for it) so we learned to adjust, but when you own the place you can definitely sort something like that out.

Generally, the mast may be ugly, but it's unlikely to be heating up your body, especially in the middle of the night specifically. Invest in a fancy thermometer that takes regular readings and stores them, take your own temperature when you feel like you're overheating, and hire a professional to deal with whichever one is causing the problem.

DRP

nkkingston wrote: »

Invest in a fancy thermometer that takes regular readings and stores them, take your own temperature when you feel like you're overheating, and hire a professional to deal with whichever one is causing the problem.

Good idea - at the least it'll put your mind at rest.

Hermia

agrinnall wrote: »

Of course there's a 4th option: none of the 3 you have mentioned apply, but the OP has mentally convinced herself that there is an issue and that has caused the manifestation of psychosomatic symptoms. I'm not a psychologist/psychiatrist and I imagine you aren't either so neither of us is in a position to make a definitive judgement, as you appear to have done, either way.

Indeed. And convincing yourself that you have symptoms of an illness is quite common. I am sure many people will do it at some point in their life. A few years ago my doctor was concerned with the results of a kidney test. Whilst I was waiting to have more thorough tests I suddenly starting getting all these symptoms. I was worried sick! As soon as all the tests came back clear the symptoms disappeared. And believe me I am not someone normally prone to fantasy!

OP - as well as seeing the doc I do urge you to monitor the flat. Flats are weird things when it comes to temperature. They have their own climate! I recommend a temperature/humidity monitor which aren't expensive.

stator

If it makes you feel better then by all means build a faraday cage around your bed. If knowing that you are protected from EMR makes you sleep better than it's a good thing
What matters most is the result, whether it's based on a real scientific danger or not is irrelvent.

hazyjo

nkkingston wrote: »

If you can record the temperature in your room overnight you may be surprised (though it might require investing in a fancy thermometer). Our last flat was scorching at 3am every night: that was when the boiler came on. And the boiler in the flat below, and to the left and to the right, and above... Even in winter we kept the window open and went to bed absolutely freezing, because neither of us wanted to get up at 3am to cool the room down when it inevitably overheated. Because it was a rental there was little we could do about the boiler (didn't even have instructions for it) so we learned to adjust, but when you own the place you can definitely sort something like that out.

Generally, the mast may be ugly, but it's unlikely to be heating up your body, especially in the middle of the night specifically. Invest in a fancy thermometer that takes regular readings and stores them, take your own temperature when you feel like you're overheating, and hire a professional to deal with whichever one is causing the problem.

Just reminded me of my friend's old flat. It was ex-LA and had all the central heating/hot water pipes for the (small) block running underneath. At certain times of the day it was like an absolute sauna.


I remember making the BIG mistake of staying over one summer night - it was unbearable. We sat on the balcony for most of the night and the rooms were just ridiculously hot!


Jx

DoctorDooLittle

ferrari_girl wrote: »

I must say I'm surprised at most of the responses, I honestly thought everyone would share my concerns and think like me, I guess not. Which makes me question my sanity even more now, and id really rather not be in that position! I'll freely admit I do worry about health a lot and Im a naturally suspicious person.

Your social circle may have something to do with this.
Perhaps your friends all read The Guardian and eat Fair Trade bananas?

Other types of people, on seeing that mast may think:
How much scrap value could I get if I rip that down in the night?
Could I hack into the mast and read everyone's texts?
Does the mast have a generator that I could fiddle with to power my cannabis farm?
Could I hit that mast with my air rifle?

I don't think you're mad for questioning the health effects of radio waves. Not when you consider RF burns and how microwave ovens work.

But spending £260k on a flat? Yes, I consider that madness. London = Emperor's New Clothes. But it's culturally congruent, so not officially madness.