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The "Butterfly's Whisper" Blog

Welcome to my blog. I hope by sharing my own misophonia experiences, others who are frustrated with misophonia sensitivities will discover that they're not alone. I also hope that people who may not have misophonia will gain some insight about what it's like to have this condition.

Please feel free to post any comments or use the "Contact Us" page if you have any questions/comments you don't want to post online.

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Fear and stress related studies in the news

10/9/2013

4 Comments

 
This morning, I was watching the CBS morning news (as usual) and a report came on about two new studies (one in London, the others by the Harvard and Boston University Schools of Public Health) that linked the stress of loud noises with medical conditions such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, and stroke - particularly by people who live near an airport. Dr. David Agus, a Professor of Medicine at USC and "CBS This Morning" contributor, attributed the negative health impacts of the loud noises to increased stress on the body which leads to increased levels of cortisol.

I quickly grabbed a little sticky pad of paper off of my nightstand to jot down the name of the doctor and the findings of the study; but as I flipped the pages to find a blank one, I noticed that I jotted down that same doctor's name for another study he presented on "CBS This Morning" two weeks ago. In that study, Dr. Agus reported that mice were infected with a common parasite that altered their brain chemistry and apparently made them "lose their fear of cats."

Even though neither study addressed misophonia directly, I do see potential connections between their results and misophonia. With the first study, I've often tried to describe to others that the reason why I'm more tired than would be expected at the end of the day is due to the constant "roller coaster" of being on edge when exposed to a trigger and then exhausted after the rush of the adrenaline subsides . When triggers come at me dozens of times an hour throughout the day and then I finally get a lengthy reprieve when I go home, it's so easy to just want to stretch out in a barca-lounger and "veg" just to release all that stress, instead of going out to evening events during the work week. (Doesn't do much for my social life though.) If the stress of loud noises has been linked to heart attacks, high blood pressure and stroke, I wonder if the stress of living with misophonia might cause the same result - since it appears that misophonia affects the body similar to what they described happens to people after extended exposure to loud noises.

The second study also intrigued me when they aired it. If there really is a parasite that could alter a brain's chemistry and reduce a person's fear impulse, is it possible that the same parasite might lessen the "fight or flight" reaction caused my misophonia? Unfortunately, I doubt they'd even be able to research that theory without doing tests on humans, which I don't think the FDA would like very much. 
4 Comments
Amy
10/10/2013 03:14:24 am

Hi - I just googled "misophonia in the workplace" and I found your blog! I will be digging into it much more, but I wanted to let you know that I have been diagnosed with toxoplasmosis, and I have mild/ moderate misophonia ...
I say " mild/ moderate" but I am at the point where I am going to have to reach out to management and try to find some sort of solution at work ... before I go into full-on rage.
I am going to explore your blog some more; it's always "nice" to find someone else who understands this condition. Thank you.

Reply
Emlyn link
10/10/2013 08:45:10 am

Hi, Amy. Welcome to SenseHaven.com. I hope you find the information in the blog and other pages helpful. (BTW, I have to be honest... I googled Toxoplasmosis. That must be tough to have both.)

As far as your situation at work, I've written many posts about my having to deal with misophonia in the workplace. If you use the search tool at the top of the page, it'll give you links that will take you straight to them.

I'll admit, I was very nervous to talk about my misophonia to management, not to mention with other coworkers, but I'm fortunate that my firm wound up being very understanding and willing to work with me to help make my work environment more bearable.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me through the post comments or via the "Contact Us" page. I'm happy to expand on anything I wrote and will answer direct questions too.

Hang in there!

-Emlyn

Reply
tarajoan
3/23/2016 02:18:36 pm

I actually think toxoplasmosis might be a cause of misophonia in that misophonia manifests as intense anger at trigger-people. I'd love to get tested, myself.

Reply
Emlyn
3/27/2016 12:57:17 pm

Thanks for the comment, Tarajoan. I'm not a doctor but given how many people around the world have misophonia, seems strange that it would be caused by a parasite.

In my, non-medical, opinion... I think it's more of an inherited (genetic) neurological condition like dyslexia, ADHD, or autism. But that's just my thoughts.

Let me know if you do get tested. I'd be curious to hear the results.

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    About the Author

    Emlyn Altman has been suffering with misophonia for over 40 years, even though she only found out about the actual medical condition much more recently. As frustrating as the condition has been over the years, her heightened sensitivities across all the senses considerably influenced her talents within the visual fine arts (particularly sculpture), music (singing, piano, and many other instruments), writing, and culinary backgrounds, as well as professional achievements as an architectural lighting designer. Her goal in developing this website is to promote more awareness about misophonia and help other sufferers as well.


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