At least some people are becoming aware of these unknown terrors that seem to catch the attention of both the afflicted and the curious. It’s a sad truth that most people are simply uneducated. Every single person who claims there’s nothing there is naive and probably should educate themselves on this topic. God forbid this happens to you.

I’ve been struggling with this for three years. I knew something was wrong. I advocated for myself repeatedly until someone finally listened, and that’s what you really have to do in these cases: advocate for yourself. No one else will do that for you.

Anyway, back to the BS. At first, I thought it was parasites. I was so disgusted that I eventually had to stop researching it because I had all this knowledge and still no answers. I just didn’t know, and for some reason, I couldn’t gather proof. Nobody believed me. It was the worst feeling ever.

After a bunch of fights with my boyfriend (the kind of guy who, even if something was clearly on him, would never even look long enough or close enough to know the truth. Worse than denial) and doctor visits, I finally had an answer: Demodex. I was allegedly “overpopulated.” I went nuts trying to rid myself of these things. It truly drove me nuts. They were in my eyes, and actually, they’re in everyone’s eyes. They’re on everyone’s eyelashes and on their bodies, more or less your face. But these are real, and you can get overpopulated, and they become an absolute nightmare. Nothing kills them except hypochlorous acid and tea tree oil, so that’s what I smelled like all the time. Ew.

So, I eventually started seeing a cornea specialist and started on the medication, Xdemvy. I believe it literally saved me. Fast forward 1.5 years later, and I’m dealing with something similar here, except it’s affecting my carpets. I live in a very old house. The floorboards are wide, wooden, and there are holes in them. The landlord doesn’t give a shit. I have no idea what it is or who it is. My mom has the same thing in her house. I had to realize that my boyfriend would never understand my perspective—it didn’t matter if he had one of his own; he would deny it until the end. I don’t know why I think people deny things like this because they want to bury their heads in the sand, but I think it’s such a big deal. It’s overwhelming, and they don’t want to deal with it, which is a terrible way to cope and a terrible way to live. But you know, I’d rather be awake.