I recently posted a question on various Misophonia Facebook groups, as well as the Sound Sensitivity Yahoo group, asking what religion were family and family of origin of respondents. Before explaining why I asked, let me make two big disclaimers: I am NOT a theologian or expert on religion. Neither am I a statistician, and…
Two of the conditions I treat (using CBT — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — and skills from DBT — Dialectical Behavior Therapy) are TINNITUS and MISOPHONIA. There are reportedly 50 million people in the US with tinnitus (ringing or other sounds in the ears, generated by the brain and not heard by others). There are probably many,…
One day, I was having a discussion with a high school misophonia client when she raised an interesting question. I decided to go to the Sound Sensitivity Yahoo group and several Facebook misophonia groups for input. Below you will find a basic explanation of the terms used, the results of my informal survey, and some…
One of the hardest parts for people with misophonia is convincing a parent, co-worker, or others who don’t “get it” that you are not making this up, not just being picky or difficult. “But,” says Dad (or someone), “You seem to be fine sometimes, or ok with some people, and not at other times or…
Many of you heard about and maybe watched the 20/20 program on kids with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) that aired on Friday, May 23, 2014. (If you missed it, go to ABC.com, click on 20/20, and you’ll be able to watch it online. I think it requires a sign-up to watch immediately, or no restrictions…
Whenever I speak with my misophonia clients, we inevitably discuss ways to cope with this problem, at home, at school, and out in public. By far, the most difficult situations seem to be at home. I think that is for two reasons: You hold it together as well as you can and when you get…
When you lose a loved one, you grieve. You have a funeral to honor their memory and to provide some kind of support to those who remain, to share the sorrow of the loss. When you lose your job or your home or your marriage, you are pretty much left to deal with that on…
When your child was little, you taught him/her basic social skills, appropriate behaviors that allow civilized people to interact with each other. “No hitting. No biting. Use your words.” Now that you have a highly reactive person living inside your precious child, you are called upon to once again do that parenting thing, setting boundaries…
One of my earliest introductions to Misophonia was the 20/20 story about a mother and teen daughter who cannot be in the same room together, and who have to communicate by writing. It appears these two love each other and have a very close relationship, but misophonia does not allow them to have the most…
In my practice as a therapist, over the years I have seen many adolescents and young adults. They have individual life issues they are struggling to handle, but they also have a lot in common. Some recurrent themes in our discussions are: defining self as distinct from family understanding their values and beliefs – where…