links between Misophonia and mental health

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    Chris

      Hi
      I was just wondering what people think of a possible connection (For some) between a mental health condition and the condition that is Misophonia.

      My own personal experience makes me feel there is some commonality between them.
      Something rather unpleasant happened when I was nine, and through my teenage years several other circumstances topped up an already troubled mind (None of which myself or anyone else was aware of, it was the 80’s). I then made the wonderful decision to join the military through the nineties and naughties, and during my service volunteered for the RAF mountain rescue team. this delightful endeavour filled my very small capacity to the top. fast forward several years and it all came spilling out like a badly constructed dam.
      In retrospect all the signs were there for anyone to see, its just no one watching was looking.

      So as I look back, now knowing about Misophonia, I wonder if some of the episodes since these events were more about Misophonia and less about PTSD, or a subtle mix of both, which is why the professionals of these various disciplines are struggling to slot Misophonia into a single medical slot.

      Several examples were:
      Storming out of family discussions.
      Running from situations and finding solace in our apple tree/ the nearest tree to event.
      Being in a night club and finding myself down the back of a sofa bawling my eyes out, rocking back and forth unable to give any explanation.
      Putting my hands over my ears and humming

      Has anyone else got a MH condition and Misophonia and struggling to identify which reactions are to which affliction?

      cheers

      Chris

      #4466 Reply

      Hi Chris,

      Thank you for posting this question. I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve been through.

      The latest research suggests that there’s a neurological basis for misophonia and that this has something to do with the way sounds are either received or processed by the amygdala.

      So in that sense I think it’s likely misophonia itself exists independently of mental health conditions (i.e. is not caused by or co-dependent on a mental health condition).

      However it is relatively common for the disorder to co-exist with mental health conditions both independently and with more of a tit for tat relationship. For example it could be argued that the stress of misophonia can amplify anxiety disorders.

      Where you get this overlap (with misophonia heightening anxiety and emotion and as such interacting with a mental health condition) it must be very disorientating and confusing.

      From personal experience, the effects of my misophodes are always immediate and directly related to the trigger sound or vision. For example the sound of someone chewing will instantly hurl me into it. There’s not really much leeway there and never a delay, but it does seem to be even more intense if I am already feeling stressed or anxious.

      Other than a bit of anxiety and some very mild OCD I personally don’t suffer from a mental health condition (am I incredibly lucky in this regard) so it will be very interesting to hear what others have to say.

      #4467 Reply
      Chris

        Hi Tom,
        thanks for your input. I think your right, I don’t think one has caused the other, more likely for me both manifested themselves from the same root cause.

        its trying to think back thirty years to a time where my memory is not complete and consider if for example I went up the tree to escape trigger noises from my family, or if I went up the tree to be alone because of all the anxiety I had building up.
        Was I freaking out and having an anxiety attack in the night club because of the feeling of threat and danger, or because I was surrounded by soo many people exhibiting a trigger (Slurping and sloppily gargling their drinks back like a savannah watering hole).

        maybe in both instances it was a mix of both and each fired off the other spiralling. I certainly didn’t understand what was happening to me or why at the time.

        cheers

        Chris

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