Kind of specific but I doubt it's rare:
Did you have a shitty childhood where you dreaded your parents getting home?
Are you now an adult living with other adults, who have never hurt you and never would, but you still get scared when you know they're coming back?
Listen to music out loud.
theory behind this:
If you've done/are familiar with DBT you might know the "opposite action" strategy.
I think it's important to specifically put that in the context of - our actions strengthen the attached neural pathways. Doing something and having a positive outcome makes that thing easier to do.
so when you have shitty parents and you respond to their expected presence by wanting to hide, often the result is less shitty than what would happen if you asserted your presence, creating and then strengthening the neural pathway of "people coming home => fear"
now, a lot of time the fear expresses itself as "I better get everything clean as possible". this complicates matters, because the obvious opposite action - leave everything dirty - is neither considerate nor a lot of fun to live with.
so instead you consider: if i'm playing the role, not of a frightened child, but of an adult anticipating people they want in their space - what's the difference?
to me the difference is about making my presence clear - not necessarily obtrusive, but stating firmly "I am here, this is my space, it belongs to me, I live here".
playing music is a good way to stake a claim to a space. singing works well too. sitting on the couch and eating a snack, perhaps.
and then when your housemates come back, and nothing happens, it helps your brain learn that existing in your own home isn't grounds for punishment.
