Allergic to Sound<\/em> (and will continue to do so). Our brains are wired to respond in this way, in the same way that a dyslexic brain is wired differently. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing, it just is. My mum has green eyes, mine are brown, vive la difference.<\/p>\nNeuroscientists are still looking into why this happens to us – and we discuss this elsewhere this site – but what matters is this. It\u2019s a very real neurological and physiological response.<\/p>\n
This near constant sensory overload and low-level anxiety between triggers is exhausting<\/h2>\n
Let’s approach this from a different angle.<\/p>\n
You meet up with a friend and ask them how their day was.<\/p>\n
They say: “Well, this morning I did a parachute jump. Then on my way to lunch a man wearing a balaclava pointed a gun at me. And just now, on my way to meet you, a tarantula dropped out of a tree and landed on my head.”<\/p>\n
After you gasp, give them a hug and check, very discreetly, that they no longer have a tarantula on their head, you reflect on what they’ve just told you.<\/p>\n
They have experienced events that would each trigger a freeze-flight-fight response in the brain. While none of these are particularly physical events, but they are all exhilarating, terrifying and extremely mentally taxing.<\/p>\n
And so you would fully expect that person would feel completely and utterly drained and exhausted.<\/p>\n
Now consider this…<\/p>\n
As misophones we’re often thrust in and out of freeze-fight-flight mode 5, 10, 15, 20 times in a single day<\/span>.<\/p>\nOn top of that, in many situations we also then have this\u00a0anticipation<\/em> of further triggers.<\/p>\nSo we have these 2 great strains placed on us througout the day:<\/p>\n
1. The immediate neurological and physiological response to misophonia triggers<\/strong>. Big, brain-busting misophodes. Your head’s screaming \u201cSTOP!\u201d and you\u2019re doing everything you can to hold yourself together and not flip out. This is exhausting.<\/p>\n2. That constant, low level anxiety that can exist between triggers.<\/strong> Sensory overload… the anticipation of more triggers… the subconscious monitoring… the hyper awareness. Again, this is\u00a0exhausting and nerve wracking.<\/p>\nSo it’s little surprise that at the end of a full day at work or school – or anywhere where don’t feel we can escape – we often feel completely exhausted.<\/p>\n
We spend the whole day noticing and processing everything around us. Burning through energy reserves during full blown misophodes and then getting hit with that slow, consistent drain as we continually monitor those moments in-between triggers.<\/p>\n
So now you know why you often feel mentally drained after a day sat in a mundane office or classroom.<\/p>\n
7 things you do to help overcome sensory overload and misophonia exhaustion<\/h2>\n
1. Be aware that it’s happening<\/strong> – Just noticing and realising the impact it\u2019s having is a good start. Knowing that the problem is there puts you in the driving seat because you\u2019re no longer battling an invisible foe<\/p>\n2. Work with<\/em> your misophonia, not against it<\/strong> – It’s not going anywhere and the people around us aren’t going to suddenly stop making normal, human sounds, so let’s find ways to work with it. Instead of spending precious time and energy placing the blame on ourselves or others, we can get prepared. That means:<\/p>\n3. Always have a simple escape plan prepared just in case\u00a0<\/strong>– When it gets too much, get up and go to the toilet\/bathroom and take some time out – that’s a super easy one<\/p>\n4. Try (if possible) to discuss flexible ways to work with your boss\/school<\/strong> – Ask if there’s a quiet room where you can study or take a laptop when you need to… see if you can work certain days from home… try sitting in a different area… take regular breaks<\/p>\n5. Always have your emergency misophonia tools to hand<\/strong> and keep spares in accessible places – Ear\/headphones are life savers<\/p>\n6. Try to make your living space a safe, noise-free haven where you can recharge<\/strong> – If you go into work or school or a public space already feeling tired, stressed and on edge, everything will feel ten times worse. You need time to recharge and reset. Got noisy neighbours? See if you can put better noise insulation (even putting a bookshelf filled with books against a noisy wall and\/or some thick wall hangings can do wonders). Or try investing in a great pair of headphones<\/p>\n7. Take regular misophonia holidays<\/strong> – Go for regular walks in the park… try mindfulness or meditation… give yourself the space to switch off and take time out from the misophonia<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My colleague has been finger drumming the desk for 3 minutes now… He does this most days. ‘Rational brain’ knows it’s a harmless, innocuous thing, yet every time I hear that sound my brain screams “%@@$\u00a3!!” and I just want to sprint out of the office and dive headfirst into the Thames. \u2026 and now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6903"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allergictosound.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}