Misophonia

[sophiethestar]

Does anyone here have this? If you do, do you find that your triggers contribute heavily to your anxiety and set off panic attacks?

If you don't know what Misophonia is, it's where you feel anger, disgust and panic at certain sounds. I know everyone gets disgusted by people chewing loudly and slurping coffee etc, but for Misophonia sufferers it's a really extreme emotional response, like I have to leave the room if I hear one of my trigger sounds and then I'll literally cry out of anger.

My trigger sounds seem to be the root cause of my anxiety. I'm a student and when I come home to visit my Dad, my anxiety is worse than ever, and I think it's because he lives in a bungalow so there is no peace and quiet apart from late at night. Through the day, no matter what room you're in, you can constantly hear the TV, the radio, voices, footsteps on wooden floor, people eating etc etc. I'm a nervous wreck after being home all summer. Thank the lord I go back to uni in two days!

Just curious if you find your anxiety/panic attacks are caused by sounds?

[jayjoe18]

Hey Sophie, I don't have this but my mum does, so I've grown up around it all my life. We didn't know what it was until I came across it online on a science facts thing only a couple of months ago. Not very well know is it?

For my mum chewing is the main one, she can't go to the cinemas or eat out much because of it. I think it can definitely contribute to anxiety because of the extreme emotions it causes, we sent some info over to the doctors as they didn't even know what it was! So it sounds like little is known but I think there is a link between the two for sure.

Good luck at Uni!

[Fishmanpa]

Now this one I understand totally! While undergoing chemo, I was given steroids to help counteract nausea. I had a severe reaction and the result was something akin to "roid rage". Certain sounds and smells set me off as well as other petty and silly things. I was a mess!

Also, my "don't do it stupid" button was turned off. I had strong urges to act on my thoughts! I recall sitting in the waiting room waiting for treatment and a guy was eating a bag of chips, chomping and crunching away and crinkling the bag. It was driving me nuts! I almost got up and smacked the bag out of his hand!

Fortunately, my chemo nurse recognized something was very wrong and the psych nurse was brought in. I was in psychosis! So off of the steroids and on a psych med for a couple of weeks to quell the symptoms. Thank God it worked!

The worst part was that I didn't recognize what was happening. I would have an outburst and not realize what or why I was doing it. Those around me knew something was very wrong but I didn't.

While I can't imagine this happening outside of my situation I do know what it feels like and it's not pleasant!

Good luck!

[fruit-cake]

Planes flying overhead do it for me! Not much I can do about it but I often fantasise about living somewhere with no airports or flight paths!

Also noises in the dark. Normal noises which don't bother me at all in the day like people walking down my street, car doors closing, fireworks etc, seem amplified in the night and terrifying. Can keep me up for hours, heart racing!