Re: 4S evolving into/stemming from an anxiety/panic disorder?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

I don't know if this will help, but I just ordered a book called " Stressed? Anxiety? Your Cure is in the Mirror " and I just started reading it, but it seems like it might help the anxiety my daughter has through Misophonia.  It is based on biofeedback and the repetitivenes of certain exersizes to teach your body to relax and rewire your conditioned brain when you come across the situations that cause the anxiety and stress.  It was written by an ENT specialist who di reaserch in this area for many years, and has seen so many patients heal their bodies of so many things just by training your body to relax.  I'm sure there are many books based on this very topic, but as I see my daughter become more and more anxious in situations she cannot control over these sounds, I feel I need to try something.  I hope I will be able to have her do these exercizes, as I plan to do them over things I get anxious about (especially stage fright). 

 

Just thought I would mention it...not sure how it will work out, but he has seen many tinnitus patients of his become well.

 

First off, this is my first post here, but I've been lurking for a while and I'm amazed at the supportive atmosphere. I'm really glad I stumbled across this forum.

So... I've been struggling with 4S/misophonia for about eight years now. It started with the sound of birds outside my window and the sound of my friend eating. Since then my triggers have expanded to a huge range of sounds, and sometimes visuals. In the past year, my 4S has gotten significantly worse. About a month and a half ago, I was taking an hour-long Math exam, and people started tapping their pens, bouncing their legs, sniffling, etc. I've always struggled with noise during exams, but I was able to just cover my ears and that was enough. I tried covering my ears and shutting my eyes, but it didn't work this time. My mind went completely blank and I felt sick - anxiety-sick, like shaky, nauseous, heart-racing, fight-or-flight sick. I started to cry, but tried to continue working, as I only had a few problems done and my time was almost out. All I wanted to do was run out of the room or curl up under my desk. Needless to say, I received a very low grade on the test. (I got an 18%.) I tried to explain to my teacher that I had a panic attack during his test, but could barely get through a sentence without crying. (I did get to do corrections to raise my grade to a 65%, the lowest passing grade.)

I thought that was it, but since then I've been feeling constantly anxious. This probably is heightened by the fact that I have finals in less than a week, but even before finals started creeping up on me, I felt this way. My heart is almost always racing, I often feel like I'm going to throw up, sometimes I lose my appetite, sometimes I feel dizzy or shaky, I'm on-edge, and I'm more sensitive to trigger noises and visuals. I have some ways of coping: wearing noise-cancelling headphones, biting my cheek when I'm triggered (to keep from lashing out), taking time to myself, setting boundaries and asking people politely to stop doing something, excusing myself from situations, etc.

But even with all of this, even in situations with no triggering noises, with no stress and no pressure, I feel anxious. With finals coming up, I'm afraid of repeating what happened on my Math exam. And more than that, I'm afraid that my 4S is turning into a Panic disorder. I've read that this is a common occurrence among people with 4S.

And I'm also wondering this: Is it also possible 4S stems from, or even IS, an anxiety disorder? The reactions to triggering noises that people have described and that I experience are very fight-or-flighty. (If that makes sense...?) For example, feeling angry and/or violent towards the person who is making the triggering noise. The fight-or-flight response has been talked about quite a bit in possible explanations for 4S/misophonia. Anxiety disorders are similarly linked to the fight-or-flight response, so is it possible that 4S should be classified as one?

(Just a side note: in explaining 4S to people, I find it a lot easier to just tell them it's " an anxiety disorder triggered by noises and visuals that most people consider to be 'background.' " Even if this isn't 100% accurate, it's useful as most people will understand what you mean. It's easier than saying " Um, certain noises make me angry or want to cry, " and being bombarded with rude or annoying questions.)

I'm getting a therapist soon, to help me deal with this and other issues in my life, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice, ideas, opinions, etc. Anything is of help. And I'm sorry this post is so long and all over the place! Feel free to respond to just one part of it and not the other. Thanks!

- Meridian------------------------------------PLEASE BE AWARE THIS IS A STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL GROUP AND NO MESSAGES ARE TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE OUTSIDE OF THE YAHOO GROUP MEMBERSHIP SITE OR REPRODUCED OR COPIED AND MAILED FOR ANY PURPOSE.

ALSO DO NOT SHARE MEMBER EMAIL ADDRESSES OR NAMES WITH ANYONE.Thank you.  MJ

[Guest guest]

-

Thanks for the info! I saw another post about the book but I didn't follow the

link. I think I'll check it out. I'm really willing to try anything to help me

handle all this anxiety.

- Meridian

>

> > First off, this is my first post here, but I've been lurking for a while

> > and I'm amazed at the supportive atmosphere. I'm really glad I stumbled

> > across this forum.

> >

> > So... I've been struggling with 4S/misophonia for about eight years now. It

> > started with the sound of birds outside my window and the sound of my friend

> > eating. Since then my triggers have expanded to a huge range of

> > sounds, and sometimes visuals. In the past year, my 4S has gotten

> > significantly worse. About a month and a half ago, I was taking an hour-long

> > Math exam, and people started tapping their pens, bouncing their legs,

> > sniffling, etc. I've always struggled with noise during exams, but I was

> > able to just cover my ears and that was enough. I tried covering my ears and

> > shutting my eyes, but it didn't work this time. My mind went completely

> > blank and I felt sick - anxiety-sick, like shaky, nauseous, heart-racing,

> > fight-or-flight sick. I started to cry, but tried to continue working, as I

> > only had a few problems done and my time was almost out. All I wanted to do

> > was run out of the room or curl up under my desk. Needless to say, I

> > received a very low grade on the test. (I got an 18%.) I tried to explain to

> > my teacher that I had a panic attack during his test, but could barely get

> > through a sentence without crying. (I did get to do corrections to raise my

> > grade to a 65%, the lowest passing grade.)

> >

> > I thought that was it, but since then I've been feeling constantly anxious.

> > This probably is heightened by the fact that I have finals in less than a

> > week, but even before finals started creeping up on me, I felt this way. My

> > heart is almost always racing, I often feel like I'm going to throw up,

> > sometimes I lose my appetite, sometimes I feel dizzy or shaky, I'm on-edge,

> > and I'm more sensitive to trigger noises and visuals. I have some ways of

> > coping: wearing noise-cancelling headphones, biting my cheek when I'm

> > triggered (to keep from lashing out), taking time to myself, setting

> > boundaries and asking people politely to stop doing something, excusing

> > myself from situations, etc.

> >

> > But even with all of this, even in situations with no triggering noises,

> > with no stress and no pressure, I feel anxious. With finals coming up, I'm

> > afraid of repeating what happened on my Math exam. And more than that, I'm

> > afraid that my 4S is turning into a Panic disorder. I've read that this is a

> > common occurrence among people with 4S.

> >

> > And I'm also wondering this: Is it also possible 4S stems from, or even IS,

> > an anxiety disorder? The reactions to triggering noises that people have

> > described and that I experience are very fight-or-flighty. (If that makes

> > sense...?) For example, feeling angry and/or violent towards the person who

> > is making the triggering noise. The fight-or-flight response has been talked

> > about quite a bit in possible explanations for 4S/misophonia. Anxiety

> > disorders are similarly linked to the fight-or-flight response, so is it

> > possible that 4S should be classified as one?

> >

> > (Just a side note: in explaining 4S to people, I find it a lot easier to

> > just tell them it's " an anxiety disorder triggered by noises and visuals

> > that most people consider to be 'background.' " Even if this isn't 100%

> > accurate, it's useful as most people will understand what you mean. It's

> > easier than saying " Um, certain noises make me angry or want to cry, " and

> > being bombarded with rude or annoying questions.)

> >

> > I'm getting a therapist soon, to help me deal with this and other issues in

> > my life, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice, ideas, opinions, etc.

> > Anything is of help. And I'm sorry this post is so long and all over the

> > place! Feel free to respond to just one part of it and not the other.

> > Thanks!

> >

> > - Meridian