misophonia – fakuto

I now officially have a disorder, apparently.

There are some people out there who report becoming annoyed to the point of rage at the sound of others’ chewing their food loudly.

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The problem is more than just sensitivity to eating sounds. It can prevent people from enjoying meals with their family and friends, or distract them at business meals and functions.

Their reactions to someone scraping their plate or smacking their lips can range from disgust to harboring violent fantasies of the face-punching variety.

The name of the condition that causes such over-the-top reactions to everyday noises is misophonia, and it is a genuine psychiatric disorder.

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People who suffer misophonia list pen-clicking, gum chewing, loud breathing, keyboard tapping and even someone fidgeting (among many other activities) as irritating to the point of rage.

It’s not a hearing problem, however. Brain scans show increased activity in the anterior insula when sufferers are triggered, as well as abnormalities in their emotional control mechanisms. In other words, they can’t help going bonkers when they hear and see someone chomping away.

Their physical reactions are real and include sweating and increased heart rate and blood pressure.

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So if you feel anxious, panic or anger when you hear a repetitive, grating noise, you definitely aren’t alone.

Researchers aren’t sure how people develop misophonia, but it does start in childhood and isn’t related to any one event.

For people whose misophonia affects their lives to the point of high social anxiety, auditory therapy and counseling to develop coping mechanisms may help. Hearing devices to provide white noise for distraction are also available.

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There is also support within the Misophonia Association. Based in Portland, Oregon, the association provides resources, advocacy and even a yearly conference for their members.

I imagine there are little to no crunchy foods available at their events, so attend feeling fully supported and heard.

The post If Loud Chewing Drives You Nuts, That’s a Psychiatric Disorder. appeared first on UberFacts.

One of life’s great annoyances is being in the presence of a loud chewer. Someone just sitting there, the sound of their mastication steadily growing in your mind until it becomes almost earsplitting.

If you feel that way about pretty much everyone’s chewing noises, to the point of having emotional reactions to them, you may have a condition is called “misophonia.”

One 18-year-old girl, Ellie Rapp of Pittsburgh, has been aware of having misophonia since middle school. But she’d been dealing with the condition since she was a toddler. When Ellie hears her family chewing their food at dinner, her “heart starts to pound.”

“I go one of two ways. I either start to cry or I just get really intensely angry. It’s really intense. I mean, it’s as if you’re going to die,” she told NPR.

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Ellie’s mom, Kathy, spent years trying to figure out how to handle Ellie’s reaction to sounds. She found an article online about misophonia.

“And I read it and I said, ‘This is what I have. This is it,’” Ellie said.

Misophonia is not just a reaction to chewing. It also happens in response to other ordinary sounds that other people make, like clearing their throat or clicking their pen. Mouth stuff is a very common trigger.

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Misophonia is basically the extreme version of what many people experience – an aversion to other people’s random noises. But it can be difficult to cope with, and there’s still a lot of work to be done in recognizing and treating the condition. It’s not listed in the DSM-5, and many doctors have never heard of it.

“It sounds bizarre, but it’s very real,” Kathy said.

And it honestly sounds terrible.

The post Hate Listening to People Chew? You May Have a Medical Condition Called “Misophonia” appeared first on UberFacts.