Misophonia – a simple explanation
“Ggggggggggggggrgrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaahhhh ..” Are you familiar with that feeling?The feeling of huge explosive anger in your body: your heart starts beating louder and louder, you can feel the pounding in your chest; The pressure on your bloodflow rises so high that it seems as your vains will explode any second now. Everything in you shouts you need to do something NOW to end it .. !!
At the same time, in your mind clearly know that there is actually nothing really important going on. The trigger that gave rise to this huge anger in you is not a bear, a lion or any other dangerous animal; You are clearly aware you are not in a threatening or degrading situation in need of direct solving. The trigger for your huge anger is innocent. Your trigger is an innocent sound!!
Smacking, slurping, swallowing food; the pronunciation of certain letters; the typing on a keyboard, the ticking of a clock, etc …. All these sounds do not directly refer to a situation that needs solving, but they are all sounds others say you should easily be able to tolerate. Yet everything in your body cries out that this noise should be stopped NOW!
Anger & hate. Your body is making sure all your body parts have direct acces to the enormous energyflow that is needed to take direct action to stop the endangered / degrading situation you are in. Your body is mobilized to attack, putting an end to the situation in an aggressive way.
People who suffer from Misophonia (literally “hate for sound”), experience an automatic rise of anger and hate in their body when hearing a particular noise. That sense of anger is automatic, there is no room for thought about whether or not there is an argued reason for this anger. The anger is right there and does not go away through thoughts about how not threatening the situation is. Actually thoughts about how “not logical” these anger feelings are not helpfull in this situation only makes the anger worse.
People who for example suffer from an anxiety disorder, also experience this automatic triggering of an emotion. Fear, unlike anger, does not have the function to solving a threat, but the function to prepare you for possible danger that will come. You experience a trigger that predicts danger to you and your body will prepare to flee or attack. This feeling of fear is reduced by soothing thoughts and the automatic response if you have often experienced that this particular trigger does not predict any danger (more).
Unfortunately, with Misophenia, exposure to the trigger does not cause any reduction in the immense auto-rising anger response. Fortunately, recent research from the AMC (Amsterdam Medical Center) has shown that other treatments are possible that can dramatically improve living conditions (Denys et al, 2017). Read more
- CGT: Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
- Attention Training (Mindfulness)
- Counterconditioning
- Relaxation
By Hagar Donners, Psychologist To make an appointment?
writeessay
12 April 2018 @ 01:14
Helpful stuff. Regards.
De Krtyuijg
Hagar Donners
11 July 2017 @ 13:28
Math,
Thank you very much for your reaction 🙂
The concept of soothing thoughts in this topic would entail telling yourself there is no reason to be angry, that evrything is fine. In the case of Misophonia this would not help, but worsen the condition.
The previously named treatment still uses the power of thought, but in a different way.
– You can for example use the power of your thoughts to redirect your attention to something else after you first acknowledge your automatic angry feeling as being there but not needing direct action or anymore attention
Thanks for emphasizing the need to explain the reccomended treatments and the undrlying brainmechanisms, I will make a follow up about that..
Matheus
11 July 2017 @ 05:43
Hi Hagar!
Great article 🙂
I liked how you exposed this particular condition that some people might be exposed. Straightforward.
I just wonder what would be the concept, if is there one, of soothing thoughts and how identify this thoughts from people to people.
Indeed, the use of neuroscience in these matters and all this popular movement you have been doing with http://www.neurowiki.nl consists of something extremely valuable and capable of improving quality of life. Not only with love and compassion, but with scientific proven treatments. Congrats!
Looking forward to discuss this techniques with you next week!
Tot ziens!
Ok doei