This is the #61 edition of our My Misophonia Story series. This week features Sarah (47) from the UK. Each week we’ll feature a new reader story, so if you’d like to share yours, please drop us a line. Sarah, take it away…
Where are you from?
Born Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham, UK. Now live in Oxford, UK
What do you do for a living?
Church organist
What are you passionate about / what are your hobbies?
Writing, writing, writing
How old were you when you first realised you had an issue with certain sounds?
About 13?
When did you first find out it was called misophonia?
About 15 years ago
What are your 3 biggest triggers? [bg_collapse view=”link” color=”#eb9500″ icon=”arrow” expand_text=”Click to Show Triggers” collapse_text=”Click to Hide Triggers” ]Doors banging, sniffing, eating noises
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Do you have any other sensory quirks?
Distracted by sight of our neighbours (who bang doors)
Have you told other people about your misophonia and if so what was their reaction?
Yes – therapists and sister very sympathetic, husband quite sympathetic at first but less so now
What’s your funniest/most ridiculous misophonia-related moment?
Once got off a bus in Glasgow to avoid sniffer – didn’t know where I was and took a while to find home!
What helps you to cope with your misophonia?
Getting away from the noise
Noise-excluding headphones (most of every day)
Reading about others’ experiences.
Telling myself ‘it’s only a door’ – i.e. disconnecting it with the life frustrations that I think are at the root.
Telling myself I don’t need 100% complete silence (unlike Proust, apparently!)
What are your misophonic superpowers?
Definitely means I try hard not to bother anyone else – whether with noises or saying the wrong thing
What’s the single most useful piece of misophonia related advice you’ve learnt?
That it’s to do with underlying emotional problems – I feel like I’m now tackling the real issue, not an inflated sense of exterior noise
What’s your very best life hack?
Self-knowledge is paramount. Get it, as much as you can, however late you start
Is there anything else you’d like to share with your fellow misophones?
Just please be kind to yourselves!
And finally! The quick fire round…
Favourite place you’ve visited:
Lake District
Favourite song:
Me Myself & I – Guardin
Favourite book:
Middlemarch – George Eliot
Favourite work of art:
Matisse – Goldfish
5 things you couldn’t live without:
Books, trees, birds, flowers, rivers
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