Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert just revealed that she suffers from a disorder called misophonia and that it was “a really dark and difficult part of my childhood.”
People with misophonia experience intense fight-or-flight reactions to everyday trigger sounds, such as chewing, slurping, chewing, throat clearing, and clapping.
“If any of the kids chewed gum or ate or banged their nails on the table, I’d want to run away,” the 60-year-old Emmy nominee recalled. People on Tuesday.
‘I’d turn red as a tomato and my eyes would fill with tears and I’d just sit there feeling absolutely miserable and terribly guilty for feeling so much hatred towards all these people, people I loved.’
Melissa continued: “I was looking at my parents, my grandmother, and my siblings with hateful eyes. I thought I was rude and I felt terrible. And guilty, which is a huge component of misophonia, the guilt you feel about these fight-or-flight feelings. It’s a really isolating disorder.”
Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert just revealed that she suffers from a disorder called misophonia and that it was “a really dark and difficult part of my childhood.”
The 60-year-old Emmy nominee (left, in 1976 photo) recalled to People on Tuesday: “If any of the kids chewed gum or ate or banged their nails on the table, I would run away desperately. I would turn red as a tomato and have tears in my eyes and I would just sit there feeling absolutely miserable and terribly guilty for feeling so much hatred toward all those people.”
Gilbert became more ‘touchy’ after menopause: ‘As the estrogen seeped out, the anger seeped in and it started to really affect me on a daily basis with my loved ones.’
The former SAG president eventually reached out to the director of the Duke Center for Misophonia and Emotion Regulation, Dr. Zach Rosenthal, who finally diagnosed her: “I cried when I found out I had a name and that I wasn’t just a bad person.”
Melissa then underwent 16 weeks of “intensive” cognitive behavioral therapy, which changed her entire life and made the misophonia more manageable.
“It’s an emotional thing. It’s about self-regulation and self-control,” said Gilbert, who presses his feet together before an attack.
“I realized I could ride out these waves, but they weren’t going away. They were never going to go away. But now I have all these tools that allow me to be more comfortable and less affected. They made me feel like I was in control.”
The Los Angeles-born, Catskills-based grandmother (whose younger sister is Sara Gilbert) added: “Now everyone around me doesn’t have to walk on eggshells.”
Melissa even bought her 35-year-old daughter, Dakota Brinkman, and 28-year-old son, Michael Boxleitner, packs of gum last Christmas, a treat they were deprived of growing up.
Other celebrities who are reported to suffer from this disorder include Kelly Ripa, Richard E. Grant, Melanie Lynskey, Sarah Silverman, Lisa Loeb, and Kelly Osbourne.
Melissa continued: “I was looking at my parents, my grandmother, and my siblings with hateful eyes. I thought I was rude and I felt terrible. And guilty, which is a huge component of misophonia, the guilt you feel about these fight-or-flight feelings. It’s a really isolating disorder.”
Gilbert became more “touchy feely” after menopause: “As the estrogen seeped out, the anger seeped out and it started to really affect me on a daily basis with my loved ones” (photo from July 26)
The former SAG president eventually reached out to the director of the Duke Center for Misophonia and Emotion Regulation, Dr. Zach Rosenthal, who finally diagnosed her: “I cried when I found out I had a name and that I wasn’t just a bad person.”
Melissa then underwent 16 weeks of “intensive” cognitive behavioural therapy, which changed her entire life and allowed her to better control misophonia: “It’s an emotional problem. It’s about self-regulation and self-control.”
The Los Angeles-born, Catskills-based grandmother (whose younger sister is Sara Gilbert) added: “Now everyone around me doesn’t have to tread carefully.” (Photo dated March 10)
Kelly Osbourne (right) revealed on Loose Women in 2018: ‘I’ve gone up to people I’ve never met and ripped gum out of their mouths. It makes my knees shake and I sweat. Don’t ask me, it’s another tick on my list of madness. I can’t stand it, it drives me crazy.’
Cate Blanchett told W Magazine in 2023 that her character, conductor Lydia Tár, suffered from the condition in Todd Field’s 2022 psychological drama Tár: “She has misophonia. It’s an acute sensitivity to sound that can trigger deep anger in people. The sound of the air conditioning would have driven her crazy.”
“I’ve gone up to people I didn’t know and ripped the gum out of their mouths,” Kelly revealed on Loose Women in 2018.
“It makes my knees shake and I sweat. Don’t ask me, it’s another tick on my list of crazy things. I can’t stand it, it drives me crazy.”
Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett said: W Magazine In 2023, her conductor character Lydia Tár suffered from the condition in Todd Field’s 2022 psychological drama Tár: “She has misophonia. It’s an acute sensitivity to sound that can trigger deep anger in people. The sound of the air conditioning would have driven her crazy.”
Gilbert hasn’t had an acting job since voicing KIM in the 2022 Marvel Wastelanders: Black Widow podcast and playing Ruby in Joanne Hock’s 2020 sister drama When We Last Spoke.
Harris supporter Walz has been married to her third husband, Emmy winner Timothy Busfield, for 11 years, but has previously had romances with Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Timothy Hutton, John Cusack, Scott Baio, Billy Idol and Dylan McDermott.
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