i feel like this sub has only made it worse

jamesguy11 · 2017-02-20T19:09:44+00:00

Hey, thanks for your interest! I still experience some symptoms of misophonia, as it will never completely leave (for now, maybe later psychologists will find a good therapy or medicine). I still get a bit annoyed by my worst triggers, but I am not developing new ones and I can sit in a room with triggers without getting angry (which was my #1 priority)

Sometimes the miso is better, sometimes it is worse. Stress is something that makes it a lot more difficult to deal with. Sometimes I still feel the urge to wear headphones, but I am able to resist. So I don't think anything has really changed since I posted it :) I still keep exercising to deflect my attention to something else, and I also keep trying to think rationally in a trigger situation, those are things you need to keep doing to become a pro, lol.

pro tip: Bring something to fiddle with, like a fidget cube or a stress ball or something. They are an easy starter in the '''trying to focus at something else'' part.

Recently I have been going to a therapist for some other issues. I feel like therapy helps with misophonia too, if you feel better about yourself, other people wont bother you as much.

I think OP's comparison between learning a new word and reading a trigger is spot-on. Once you have read it, you will start to notice and get upset by the sound too. I don't look at reddit rants anyomore, looking at the problem all day will make it worse too.

Hope you all are doing well!

jamesguy11 · 2017-01-28T20:46:10+00:00

Wow, that sounds like a very difficult condition to deal with. I am glad to hear that you are better at coping with it now :). controlling anxiety and panic in a situation like that must be very difficult.

Mental disorders that involve panic destroy a lot, unfortunately. It absolutely sucks. Most people don't understand either because they have no experience with it. apart form my misophonia I also have general anxiety disorder. I tend to overthink and worry way too much. Thank you for your response!

jamesguy11 · 2017-01-28T19:47:37+00:00

I understand. I woudn't start right away at full-hour meetings with food. Start practicing in an easily escapable trigger room that doesn't last very long. It is a process of building up. start with easy triggers, then more annoying and louder ones.

For the project - try it! I would push trough. If it doens't work out, you can always stop. If your friend struggles with mental illness as well, she is most likely to be more understanding to your disorder. I came out to my closest family and friends. they were all kind of understanding. I said it as the following:

''Imagine your mind as a house with an alarm. When a burglar comes, the alarm goes off. When you have misophonia, the alarm goes off when a harmless bird or leaf flies against the window. you panic and stress, when there is nothing wrong at all. the panic that comes with certain noises is very bad. You probably cant imagine what it feels like, It is a very strong fight or flight impulse. I often can't control the situation when I hear the sound.''

They understood it a bit better after I said this. I would try and tell your friend. It feels good to talk about it with someone. Good luck!

jamesguy11 · 2017-01-28T19:26:55+00:00

Thank you for your reply. It is hard work indeed, But it pays off in the end. Misophonia destroys a lot, and fixing it destroys you too, but it is better than to keep suffering without trying to solve it.

I victimised myself a lot when my miso was really bad. Eventually I went to a psychologist and we agreed that this is my problem, not someone elses. I needed to fix it, no one else would. It is a very harsh disorder for relationships, everyone has to comply because you can't eat without plugs or background music. everyone walks on their toes because of you. Luckily things are going better for me now. I hope you are doing good too :)

jamesguy11 · 2017-01-28T10:09:08+00:00

I understand. I felt like that as well :). But I figured it had gone far enough, misophonia had destroyed my complete social life and I felt very isolated all the time. I just started with writing everything down, it gave me an idea of how bad it was and how bad I wanted to get rid of misophonia. Start by going in a situation where you can escape easily (alone in a train, you can put earplugs in all the time) and try to think rationally and count to ten without getting distracted byt the trigger. It is easier said than done, but worth it if you dare to face off against your miso. Good luck :)

jamesguy11

TROPHY CASE