Misokinesia. Any tips for acute anger??

Hi everyone. I have self-diagnosed misokinesia since it's not really possible to get a diagnosis for that. I've had it as long as I can remember.

What it is (to me): I get very angry when people make specific movements, especially if it's someone close to me like my family or my close friends. These movements are usually things like touching something or someone softly, washing hands, rubbing hands on something, and some more. It makes me even more angry when people (or things!) touch me (softly). For instance, I never wanted my parents to hold my hand, I never wanted them to kiss me or touch my head or hair or any other place. And then there's stuff like plastic bags touching my legs when I walk with them or touching a garbage bag or sometimes when I have a bad day, I can't even wear a dress or other piece of clothing that is not skin tight. And this syndrome gets me very embarrassed sometimes, for example on the bus and a man in the seat in front of me is very softly rubbing the back of his girlfriend. I get really mad by just thinking about it again..

So the problem with this is the anger of course. I am a very calm person. I think I taught myself to keep my calm in any situation because of this syndrome. But the thoughts are sometimes really driving me crazy. I somtimes feel like throwing a chair at someone in public or breaking my mother's arm when she is rubbing her hand on something again! I would never ever do that of course! I would never harm anyone! But these kind of thoughts keep coming and I feel like they are making me go insane sometimes

What can I do? Does anyone have a good tip that can reduce the amount of anger that I feel so instantly at that time?

If you think you have such a distressing issue as this, it is likely a good time to talk with a professional about it... Perhaps there's something deeper causing you to be a little hypersensitive to sounds which a professional would be able to help you find.

I went through a semi-similar issue at one point... Certain sounds or things could get me annoyed, although I didn't escalate to the level of anger.

I found that the sounds, like someone smacking their lips, was breaking my focus which was the issue. Exercising my ability to focus through meditation is what really helped me. Another thing which could help is when you recognize something is making you angry, take a deep breath, relax, & let go of it; focus back on the task at hand. Your brain is basically being trigger by the sound & conditioning yourself to just ignore it could help you move beyond it.

Why do you think it could be something deeper? Misophonia and misokinesia are both about getting angry as a reaction to certain triggers, so why would there be anything else behind the problem? (Not meant as criticism, just curious!)

I've never tried meditation, so I will try that some time!
I always try to ignore it and/or calm down immediately, but that helps only for not acting out in some way. I dont know how to say this corrctly, but my mind is not at peace after that yet..

Thanks for the response though! I'll definitely try the meditation!

Hey there,

Don't worry, I don't think questioning things is criticism... I think people really should question everything & should keep an open mind on the things we already think we know & believe in. Regardless of something being a trigger from something deeper or just the way your brain is wired doesn't always matter.

In the end, you are the only person who know what's going on in your head; I can only guess & try to help by applying past experience, knowledge, & wisdom. Finding a balanced way to live & being happy with oneself can be all that really matter, regardless of what you believe in. You're doing good by exploring different possibilities & accepting the fact that you need improvement, where many people would have just continued their lives getting angry & blaming everyone else for their problems.

If you have ever seen the movie Anger Management, you might have noticed how it actually has many relevant real-world applicable concepts in it. Essentially, the protagonist has mis-mapped anger & must go through various trials & tribulations to learn to properly cope. Some of his troubles were due to repression of anger from childhood bullying. By facing some of these past circumstances, he was able to learn the differences between socially acceptable anger & the repressed unneeded stuff from his past.

What's troubling you seems to go beyond just anger though... You seem to have personal space boundary issues. This could be caused by a few things ranging from something in the past which led you to be defensive about your space, to a development which lacked that kind of behavior.

Personally, I was raised in an environment which lacked behavior like hugging, pats on the back, & kisses on the cheek. When I grew & got into "the real world" I found certain things like that really awkward & annoying. Over time I did get to learn some of these social difference in people & began to appreciate them for what makes us unique in our own ways. These days, I can now feel at home partying & dancing with my neighbors Puerto Rican family (which are from a very friendly society where a hug & a kiss on the cheek is a common greeting between familiar individuals), where as a decade ago I would have likely been distraught by their behavior.

Meditation can be an excellent way to find that peace of mind you are looking for, but bear in mind that you need to have a lot of patience. It can take time, even years, to truly learn how to master meditation. But, don't let that lead you astray, it does work.

I hope my, albeit long winded, words can help you find some insight & ideas to overcome what is bothering you.

Have you found help with your Misokinesia anger? My son has both Misokinesia and Misophonia. He has some anger but also physical pain. We found a good treatment for the Misophonia so he is much better with that! The Misokinesia improved when he did Neurofeedback and his therapist said Brainspotting could help too. He has always had problems with medications so we had to find other methods. I hope you are doing well now!