Part of living life, is being vulnerable, or allowing yourself to get through the uncomfortable; This is true for every human. Unfortunately, for Misophones, we experience life, in its entirety, with heightened senses and sensitivities. We experience pain and struggle more in depth, but on the flip side, we experience the positives in life more vividly. We have a unique perspective on everything, and I believe, valid thoughts to share. However, as a behavioral trait of this disorder, Misophones often end up avoiding social situations and isolating themselves, to prevent being anxious, or being triggered in front of others and exhibiting odd behavior. A lot of sufferers try to keep their struggle a secret, because it is hard to vocalize, but I know from experience how isolating, and depressing that is. Secluding yourself is comfortable and easy, but that is no way to live happily and truly fulfilled, overall. We are doing ourselves no favors by facing this disorder alone. As a basic human need, the support and complete understanding of those around us, and those that love us, is important.
Speak up.
In person, some of us cannot find the words to explain ourselves due to the anxiety, or even being triggered and angry. Alternatively, get comfortable, and alone, in your happy place, collect your thoughts, and write down what is going on in your head, and what you want others to understand. It can be terrifying to share, but the people that love you, do want to understand you, even if its difficult for them. Opening up, and creating dialog, gives them the opportunity to ask questions, so you can further educate them. Although this will not prevent us from being triggered completely, somethings are unavoidable, which is the unfortunate aspect of this disorder. However, by including others and giving them an opportunity to aid in our struggle, instead of obliviously causing us pain, it becomes easier. You then have the opportunity to figure out a way to accommodate everyone, because you are important too. According to quite a few Misophones, including myself, writing a short article, and posting it on our Facebook pages has resulted in extremely positive feedback. Several of us believe that this disorder is a lot more common than we think, do to the amount of friends and family members, that have come to us about their similar experiences after posting our stories. You never know who around you could also be struggling, especially since findings suggest that there is a strong possibility that there is a genetic component. It is very possible that some of your family members could be afflicted as well. Although, not every one has to make a Facebook post, I still invite every Misophone to think of a way that you can express how this disorder affects you, at least to those closest to you.
Be heard.
Not only is it important for sufferers to be vocal about their disorder to their loved ones, but also to the scientific community. This affliction is not something that you can see, aside from the physical side affects that result for some individuals. At the core, this is an internal, very personal issue. Which is why there is so little known about it, and not a lot of progress has been made in finding a widely agreed upon treatment, much less a cure. The only way that researchers and doctors can gain more knowledge, is for sufferers to be more expressive as to the actual experience that occurs during a trigger, what exact things trigger you, and how this entire occurrence affects your mental state and thought processes. The realization has occurred, that many sufferers are often creatives. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. We have to think outside the box to cover up, avoid and hide our disorder, and that ability is positively applied to other aspects of our lives. We are forced to actively engage that part of our brain, so lets use it to our advantage! In order to overcome this disorder, take back the control of your life, use your voice, and the skills that our disorder inadvertently gives us. I encourage you to write, or create something that expresses your struggle with Misophonia. Not only will it aid in research, but it will help you feel better about your disorder, and yourself. I believe that we were given this affliction for a reason. Even though it is undoubtedly the single most difficult thing that we face in our lifetime, it also gives us incredible strength in managing it, and a unique perspective on every aspect of life.
Misophonia International is an E-Magazine written, and put together, by Misophones, and we are always looking for sufferer testimonies, stories, and content for our magazine. We want to know more about this disorder, and get to the bottom of this for us all. In order to do that, we need more voices, and more information. We want it all: writings, poems, songs, music, physical and digital art, videos, and any other type of art form that you believe portrays your relationship with this disorder. Submit your pieces to us on Facebook, or to our website! We will review every single submission, give you feedback, pass our findings along to researchers, and most likely feature your piece in the magazine.
Be a part of the progress and lets make some noise about Misophonia!
Edward D. Levin, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. He has secondary appointments in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He directs the Neural and Behavioral Assessment and Training Cores of the Duke University Superfund Basic Research Program and is former Director of the Duke Integrated Toxicology Program. Dr. Levin earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology in 1984 at the University of Wisconsin. He was an NIH-sponsored Post-doctoral fellow in Psychopharmacology at the Psychology Department at University of California at Los Angeles and was a visiting scientist at Uppsala University in Sweden. Since 1989 he has conducted research and taught at Duke University.
