{"id":30042,"date":"2016-01-08T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=30042"},"modified":"2016-05-23T02:27:25","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T09:27:25","slug":"help-every-sound-i-hear-makes-me-anxious-and-irritable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/dear-gt\/help-every-sound-i-hear-makes-me-anxious-and-irritable","title":{"rendered":"Help! Every Sound I Hear Makes Me Anxious and Irritable"},"content":{"rendered":"

I find myself filled with compassion<\/a> for you. It sounds like so many of the common, everyday sounds of life are extraordinarily uncomfortable for you. I imagine it makes engaging with the world around you nearly impossible. It must feel very limiting for you. I hope that you can find this compassion for yourself<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n

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Find a Therapist<\/a><\/h2>\n\t
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While I certainly cannot make a diagnosis<\/a> from your brief note (nor is this my expertise), it sounds like you could be describing a condition called misophonia\u2014a sound sensitivity disorder. It is not currently listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)<\/a> or International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10)<\/em>, but it has recently been getting attention in the mainstream media and has therefore gained some exposure. There is a website, www.misophonia.com, that has news and information about the condition plus a support forum where you can connect with others.<\/p>\n

Whether you are dealing with misophonia or not, I would recommend that you consider partnering with a therapist for support. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you are dealing with misophonia or not, I would recommend that you consider partnering with a therapist<\/a> for support. It certainly sounds like this is causing you considerable stress<\/a> and anxiety<\/a>. You mention that the sound of your best friend’s voice immediately angers you and that your parents think you are \u201cfussy\u201d and \u201cneed to get over it.\u201d It sounds like your sensitivity to sound is also having a significant impact on your relationships<\/a>. Working with a therapist will enable you to explore all of the ways you are impacted by this sensitivity to sound, and to develop some strategies for coping with them.<\/p>\n

Whatever steps you take to address this, I hope you do seek out help. You mention sometimes feeling like a \u201cb*tch\u201d and wanting to \u201cgrow out of this.\u201d These sentiments suggest you feel your sensitivity is a character flaw rather than acknowledging that you might well be dealing with a condition (misophonia). Regardless of the cause, you are struggling. Being kind and compassionate with yourself will get you much further than being punitive.<\/p>\n

Best wishes,
\nSarah<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC, responds to our latest reader-submitted Dear GoodTherapy.org question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2396,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[625],"tags":[522],"class_list":["post-30042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dear-goodtherapy","tag-dear-gt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30042\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}