OUR MISSION
Misophonia UK has an explicit commitment to the following groups:
1) medical and healthcare practitioners
2) the scientific and research communities
3) people with misophonia, their families, friends and colleagues
4) the general public
1) Our commitment to medical and healthcare practitioners
Until recently, misophonia was an "invisible" disorder. Most of those with the condition simply suffered in silence. Those who plucked up the courage to go their doctor were told that they were suffering from stress, or depression, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Sufferers had real symptoms but the medical community did not recognise them to be a syndrome.
Expert clinicians now recognise that there is a disorder called misophonia, or selective sound sensitivity sydrome[1]. However, this message has not filtered all the way down to the vast majority of family doctors, or even many consultants.
Therefore, the primary mission of Misophonia UK is to raise awareness of misophonia amongst medical practitioners and allied health communities (psychologists, nurses, complementary health practitioners etc).
We will do this by:
● maintaining a register of UK consultants who are willing to provide a diagnosis of misophonia
● providing information through this website
2) Our commitment to the scientific and research communities
Misophonia is a disease of unknown aetiology. Given the relative novelty of the diagnosis, its epidemiology is not well described either. In laymans terms, we don't what causes misophonia, and it is not clear how many people have it, either in absolute terms or as a percentage of the population. What is becoming clear is that misophonia has been hugely under-diagnosed (in the admittedly short lifetime of the diagnosis).
We will therefore conduct research into the prevalence of misophonia, commission independent research and seek to stimulate further interest within the scientific communities.
We will do this by:
● conducting research into misophonia (both by our own Misophonia Research Foundation and by commissioning independent studies)
● attending conferences
● instituting a bi-annual conference on misophonia
3) Our commitment to people with misophonia, their families, friends and colleagues
There is a clear need to help support sufferers of misophonia, in what can be a uniquely isolating condition. A common refrain is that the sufferer believes they are "the only person in the world" with their symptoms. Similarly, the families, friends and colleagues of people with misophonia may be long-suffering victims of misophonia too, in a vicarious sense.
We therefore wish to help support people with misophonia, their families, friends and colleagues.
We will do this by:
● running a support group (click here) and fostering a sense of community in the UK and further afield.
● when funding permits, providing a telephone helpline service.
4) Our commitment to the general public
If the medical community has not yet widely adopted the diagnosis of misophonia, there is an even greater awareness deficit amongst the general public. This is not helped by the fact that most people have noises that they "don't like", such as the sound of chalk screeching against a board, and some are therefore not inclined to take misophonia seriously. Whether misophonia is a continuum condition that everybody has to a certain extent is a matter for further research. However, what is clear is that clinical misophonia is a very real condition which is very different from simply "not liking" a particular sound.
The typical sufferer of clinical misophonia can experience immediate and intense rage at others’ eating and breathing sounds, of which they become hyper-aware and obsessed by, sometimes with an ability to recall particular incidents years after the event. The condition often sets off a “fight or flight” panic reaction in which the sufferer experiences a desire to be violent to the trigger person, or to flee the vicinity.
There is a clear need to educate and inform the general public about clinical misophonia. We therefore intend to raise awareness of misophonia amongst the general public.
We will do this by:
● providing information through this website.
● publishing explanatory leaflets
● encouraging media coverage.
● instituting "Misophonia Monday", an awareness day on the first Monday in May.
● making misophonia awareness ribbons available for sale.
Misophonia UK has an explicit commitment to the following groups:
1) medical and healthcare practitioners
2) the scientific and research communities
3) people with misophonia, their families, friends and colleagues
4) the general public
1) Our commitment to medical and healthcare practitioners
Until recently, misophonia was an "invisible" disorder. Most of those with the condition simply suffered in silence. Those who plucked up the courage to go their doctor were told that they were suffering from stress, or depression, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Sufferers had real symptoms but the medical community did not recognise them to be a syndrome.
Expert clinicians now recognise that there is a disorder called misophonia, or selective sound sensitivity sydrome[1]. However, this message has not filtered all the way down to the vast majority of family doctors, or even many consultants.
Therefore, the primary mission of Misophonia UK is to raise awareness of misophonia amongst medical practitioners and allied health communities (psychologists, nurses, complementary health practitioners etc).
We will do this by:
● maintaining a register of UK consultants who are willing to provide a diagnosis of misophonia
● providing information through this website
2) Our commitment to the scientific and research communities
Misophonia is a disease of unknown aetiology. Given the relative novelty of the diagnosis, its epidemiology is not well described either. In laymans terms, we don't what causes misophonia, and it is not clear how many people have it, either in absolute terms or as a percentage of the population. What is becoming clear is that misophonia has been hugely under-diagnosed (in the admittedly short lifetime of the diagnosis).
We will therefore conduct research into the prevalence of misophonia, commission independent research and seek to stimulate further interest within the scientific communities.
We will do this by:
● conducting research into misophonia (both by our own Misophonia Research Foundation and by commissioning independent studies)
● attending conferences
● instituting a bi-annual conference on misophonia
3) Our commitment to people with misophonia, their families, friends and colleagues
There is a clear need to help support sufferers of misophonia, in what can be a uniquely isolating condition. A common refrain is that the sufferer believes they are "the only person in the world" with their symptoms. Similarly, the families, friends and colleagues of people with misophonia may be long-suffering victims of misophonia too, in a vicarious sense.
We therefore wish to help support people with misophonia, their families, friends and colleagues.
We will do this by:
● running a support group (click here) and fostering a sense of community in the UK and further afield.
● when funding permits, providing a telephone helpline service.
4) Our commitment to the general public
If the medical community has not yet widely adopted the diagnosis of misophonia, there is an even greater awareness deficit amongst the general public. This is not helped by the fact that most people have noises that they "don't like", such as the sound of chalk screeching against a board, and some are therefore not inclined to take misophonia seriously. Whether misophonia is a continuum condition that everybody has to a certain extent is a matter for further research. However, what is clear is that clinical misophonia is a very real condition which is very different from simply "not liking" a particular sound.
The typical sufferer of clinical misophonia can experience immediate and intense rage at others’ eating and breathing sounds, of which they become hyper-aware and obsessed by, sometimes with an ability to recall particular incidents years after the event. The condition often sets off a “fight or flight” panic reaction in which the sufferer experiences a desire to be violent to the trigger person, or to flee the vicinity.
There is a clear need to educate and inform the general public about clinical misophonia. We therefore intend to raise awareness of misophonia amongst the general public.
We will do this by:
● providing information through this website.
● publishing explanatory leaflets
● encouraging media coverage.
● instituting "Misophonia Monday", an awareness day on the first Monday in May.
● making misophonia awareness ribbons available for sale.
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