The word 'misophonia' describes a condition that statistically, 20 per cent of you have: an extreme reaction to certain sounds. "For me, it was a relief to have a word for what I'd been experiencing," says Dr Jane Gregory, author of the new book Sounds Like Misophonia: How to Stop Small Noises from Causing Extreme Reactions, "because I thought for a long time that I was really uptight or maybe a bit controlling over other people, and that that was a problem with my character, as opposed to it actually being a problem with the way that my brain processes sounds." Jane offers advice for handling with misophonia, including some very simple verbal techniques. Find out more about this episode and the topics therein and read the transcript at theallusionist.org/misophonia. This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick of Neutrino Watch and Song By Song podcasts provides the Allusionist music. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community. You can also sign up for free to receive occasional email reminders about Allusionist stuff. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch via facebook.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk lovingly and winningly about your product or thing on the show in 2024, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by: • Wildgrain, the subscription box for sourdough breads, fresh pastas, and artisanal pastries that you can cook from frozen in 25 minutes. Get $30 off your first box, PLUS free croissants in every box, when you start your subscription at Wildgrain.com/allusionist or use promo code ALLUSIONIST at checkout.• Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase. • Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online empire. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is the illusionist in which I, Helen Zaltzman, throw shots of language down the ice luge I lovingly hand carved.
Now, you heard her in the behave episode talking about how cognitive behavioral therapy works.
You heard her in the novel remedy episode talking about why she sometimes prescribes novels to aid the mental health.
And in this episode, Jane Gregory is back to talk about a condition that statistically 20% of you have.
So I hope this is a useful episode for you.
On with the show.
I first heard the term misophonia when I was reading an article in the New York Times.
I'd say at least five people sent me that article to say, hey, this sounds like you read the word misophonia.
Read the description and just thought, oh, right, okay, yep, that's me.
That's exactly what I've experienced my entire life.
How did it feel to have a word for what you've been experiencing?
For me, it was a relief to have a word for what I'd been experiencing.
It was nice to have an alternative theory for what I was experiencing, because I thought for a long time that I was really uptight or maybe a bit controlling over other people, and that that was a problem with my character as opposed to it actually being a problem with the way that my brain processes sounds.
So it was nice to have an alternative explanation for that.
Do I say doctor or just Jane?
I don't know.
Yeah, if you want, you could do both.
I'm going to go with Jane.
I'm Jane Gregory.
I'm a clinical psychologist researching misophonia, and I'm the author of the book sounds like misophonia, how to stop psychiatric small noises from causing extreme reactions.