Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is not a cure for misophonia, but it can offer relief. The following are some types of CBT that can be helpful for misophonia:
- SMART goals. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time limited.
- Guided discovery and questioning. By questioning the assumptions you have about yourself or your current situation, your therapist can help you learn to challenge these thoughts and consider different viewpoints.
- Journaling. You might be asked to jot down negative beliefs that come up during the week and the positive ones you can replace them with.
- Self-talk. Your therapist may ask what you tell yourself about a certain situation or experience and challenge you to replace negative or critical self-talk with compassionate, constructive self-talk.
- Cognitive restructuring. This involves looking at any cognitive distortions affecting your thoughts—such as black-and-white thinking, jumping to conclusions, or catastrophizing—and beginning to unravel them.
I personally believe that most of these have use within misophonia coping skills (albeit some more than others, and obviously never exposure therapy). It is my belief that a practitioner treating misophonia needs to be eclectic and willing to bend their theory and perspective based on the person in front of them—this is even more true with misophonia where we are alleviating symptoms rather than removing the misophonic response.
Table of contents:
- Misophonia coping skills homepage
- What is misophonia?
- What is misokinesia, or visual triggers?
- Calming the nervous system
- Exercise: 4-7-8 breathing
- CBT for misophonia
- Exercise: negotiating boundaries
- Exercise: reframing misophonia
- What is a sensory diet?
- Exercise: planning your sensory space
- Misophonia Matters