Melissa Gilbert Opens Up on Having Misophonia, Says It Made Her Childhood ‘Dark and Difficult’ 

American actress Melissa Gilbert has opened up about her childhood and how she was secretly struggling despite her public smiles. Gilbert gained popularity after she portrayed the character Laura Ingalls in the popular western series, “Little House on the Prairie.”

Melissa Gilbert has always been upfront about the ongoings of her health, including colonoscopies and neck surgery. However, it took her a lifetime to recognize, identify, and discuss her experience with the neurological condition misophonia.

Childhood Was Not Always Rosy for Melissa Gilbert

On August 20, 2024, PEOPLE published an interview with 60-year-old Gilbert, who opened up about her childhood. The 60-year-old actress spoke about her childhood and how easily she became irritable. She revealed how everyday noises, like popping gum, clapping, chewing, and nails clicking, only seemed to annoy her.

Gilbert said, “If any of the kids chewed gum or ate or tapped their fingernails on the table, I would want to run away so badly. I would turn beet red, and my eyes would fill up with tears, and I’d just sit there feeling miserable and guilty for feeling so hateful towards all these people—people I loved.”

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Additionally, Melissa Gilbert stated that the irritation happened at home, making her childhood difficult and stressful. Gilbert revealed she would scowl at her family while they were eating at the dinner table. Admitting she was miserable, Gilbert said she felt like she was simply impolite.

Gilbert said that even as a mother, she was not spared, as she found it particularly difficult to control her impulses. She said, “I had a hand signal that I would give, making my hand into a puppet, and I’d make it look like it was chewing, and then I’d snap it shut—like, ‘Shut your mouth!’”

Subsequently, Gilbert stated that her condition became more severe as she was going through menopause. Although she was at the beginning very touchy, she became increasingly irritable as the menopause continued.

Melissa Gilbert Cried When She Found Out She Suffers From Misophonia

After a difficult childhood and an equally difficult adulthood, Melisssa Gilbert discovered her sensitivities stemmed from a condition known as misophonia. Misophonia is a condition that leads to intense emotional, physical, and behavioral reactions to sound and visual triggers experienced by those affected by it.

Gilbert revealed that she cried when she was diagnosed with misophonia. She said it was nice to know the name of her condition and the realization that she was normal and wasn’t a terrible person.

Gilbert aims to raise awareness of misophonia in partnership with Duke Center for Misophonia and Emotional Regulation at Duke University School of Medicine.

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Gilbert Found a Way To Treat It Last Year

Although she knew the condition and its name, Melissa Gilbert didn’t know it was treatable until 2023. She only learned about the treatment plan after discovering Duke’s Center for Misophonia. 

According to a video Gilbert had made for the center’s website, she revealed that she randomly sent a letter requesting help. Consequently, Dr. Zach Rosenthal, the center’s director, wrote back, informing her that she was alone and that help was available.

Gilbert stated that the center had taught her that the best treatment for misophonia was cognitive behavioral therapy. Following the revelation of a treatment plan, Gilbert went for intensive cognitive-behavioral therapy, which lasted 16 weeks.

The actress stated that given that misophonia is an emotional issue, the remedy is simply self-regulation and self-control. She revealed that going for cognitive behavioral therapy gave her something she never had in her childhood—a way of identifying the symptoms. 

Gilbert said, “I realized I could ride out these waves but that they’re not going to go away. They never go away. But now I have all these tools to enable me to be more comfortable and less triggered. It made me feel in control.”

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What Is the Root Cause of Misophonia?

Misophonia is a disorder that causes a person to have a lowered tolerance to certain noises. According to the Cleveland Clinic, although physicians are aware of misophonia, it is not an officially recognized condition. 

Although the exact cause of misophonia is still unknown, many people claim that hearing family members eat when they were young caused them to become extremely disgusted. This bolsters the idea that misophonia may result from repeated programming a person receives from their surroundings.

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