Sense Haven: A Site Dedicated to Misophonia
  • Home
  • Triggers
  • Resources
    • General Information
    • Scientific Research
    • Non-Scientific Articles
    • Video and Audio Clips
    • Articles Focused on School-Aged Children
    • Other Misophonia Websites/Blogs
  • Coping Tools
  • Support Venues
  • Blog
  • Past Polls
  • Contact

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.

Contact ME

Spreading the word about misophonia...

1/26/2013

0 Comments

 
Okay, I'm long overdue to post a blog entry, but I have a good reason... From two Thursdays ago until last Tuesday, I was at a writer's conference and between the jet lag coming back and immediately trying to play catch-up at work when I got back, I got a little side-tracked from this blog. It was an amazing conference with wonderful, NY Times best selling authors and such creative writers... Very inspirational for my own writing endeavors, which lately have been focused on writing a book to help promote better awareness about misophonia. I even pitched my book idea to two agents, both of whom were interested in what I was trying to convey. Their feedback from our 10 minute pitch sessions, as well as what I learned from the conference, gave me even more ideas to better reframe my book. So now I'm taking a step back to do some rewriting, now even more excited than ever...

Even the moments when I wasn't at the conference allowed me time to do some introspection about my misophonia, and reflect upon how it's affected my life over the years - even before I knew what I had was an actual medical condition. Typically, these thoughts occured in the wee hours of the morning, when my body woke me up shortly before the sun was about to rise.  It was during those quiet moments, when I sat on my hotel room's balcony listening to the ocean's waves and watching the early morning light pierce the dark night's sky, that I thought about what I learned in the various classes, keynote speeches, and even in general conversation with some of the other writers.

Many people with whom I shared my story were very intrigued about misophonia - some even commented how the condition seemed very similar to the sensitivities by other people they knew. At the end of the conference, I even had a conversation with one of the volunteers who suggested I look into some special teas including: Camomille (one that I do enjoy), "Tension Tamer" (I think I may have had that one once), as well as something called Valarian tea. I will admit that I am more of a tea drinker than coffee, so if it might help me cut some of the edge off of the triggers, I will certainly try it.

I will say that something funny happened during the last couple of hours at the conference, when I had dinner at one of the restaurants recommended by the shuttle driver when I first arrived. The restaurant was located right on the edge of the ocean and I was able to watch one last sunset over the water before heading back to the frigid weather of the Midwest. Sitting there in the last few warm rays of the sun, listening to the ocean hit the rocks was very relaxing and my mind started flowing with many ideas for the book - memories of times that I hadn't thought about in years. I knew I had to write everything down in my little black book before I forgot. Just as I was finishing up my dessert and jotting down a few more thoughts, one of the hostesses came over to me and asked about what it's like to be a critic. I can certainly see why she made the assumption that I was a food critic, since I was eating alone at a nice restaurant and writing in a little black book, but that was definitely a first for me. (I've traveled alone a great deal when attending conferences or other business trips.) I explained to her that I was there for a conference, but if I had been a food critic, they would've gotten high marks across the board for food, service, and atmosphere. It was the perfect way to end my trip. I hope to do it again next year! 
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Want to know when a new blog entry is posted, then click the RSS Feed button below to sign up for the "Butterfly's Whisper" update notifications.

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    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.


    Archives

    October 2021
    January 2019
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

Copyright © 2021 Emlyn G. Altman