nacona

Hi - I have 58 days sober today, and I am at work ready to freaking explode.

The people I sit around are either snapping and crunching on carrots or they are popping and snapping their gum. I am sooooo frustrated by this. These sounds have always bothered me, but it is getting much much worse. I absolutely feel like drinking to releive the stress.

Do things like this happen to anyone else? Is this normal in early sobriety? Will working my 4th step help me with this irritability?

I had to take a 20 minute walk to calm down; I was either going to cry or start screaming at people.

I don't think I can hang on much longer like this.

suki44883

Yes, it's normal. My nerves were raw for quite a while, but it did eventually get better. Can you listen to a radio with ear buds or something to drown out their popping and snapping? Maybe invest in a set of ear plugs and then hum to yourself. If you hum one note constantly, you might just irritate them as much as they're irritating you. Or whistle! Yeah, that's the ticket!

TheEnd

I would like to think that something else is troubling you other than the noises that people are making, but I could be wrong. Try to hang on and think about how happy you will be in 2 days, when you hit the big 60.

Toronto68

Nacona, can you chew something to create your own internal noise and block them out? OR will that mess up what you are trying to hear to begin with?

I wasn't around a lot of people after I quit, but I think I can remember each sound feeling kind of new again. I suppose it just takes some adjustment for a while. Lately certain things annoy me and it is a year tomorrow for me.
Don't let them have that much power.

DayTrader

Read p84 (10th step) again from "This thought" --> "our code." That tells you what to do when "irritable." Then do that. (**especially the last several sentences)

Nice seeing a post outta you.......been a while N! (or I've just not seen them).

DT

Zencat

I know I was irritable early on in recovery. Actually I was just a set of jangled nerves then. I just held on knowing it would pass and it did. I did a lot of letting go back then too.

Anna

I think irritability is normal during early recovery.

And, I also think that this a time for learning new and healthy ways to deal with annoyances. I hope you feel better soon.

sleepie

I totally understand! I too am intensely repulsed and upset by the sounds of mastication. I can't even enjoy a movie unless the theater is nearly empty- or I am beside myself with all the chomping and slurping of popcorn, chips and soda. Don't even get me started about people eating on public transportation... I can't handle it. I have been this way since childhood. As an adult, I often have to excuse myself or wait until the person I am eating with is finished with their meal because it sickens me so that I can't eat until the noise is over. It makes me feel like a beast to be so sensitive to something that does not seem to bother others.

johndelko408

I can relate, little things tend to irritate me as well. I normally recite the serenity prayer to myself and it helps me out. Also knowing that I don't have control of other people helps me out. If I don't have control then its not in my hands and I don't worry about it. If your allowed to put on some headphones at work try that, a nice audio book or your favorite tunes. Hope this can help you.

VeeTee

OH dear - I am a noisy apple-chomper.. (sees everyone running away).. I love the crunching noise when biting into a juicy apple. I know that many of my co-workers have suffered in the past and I am trying to eat with more restraint nowadays.

becoming a better person every day.
vee

nacona

I work at an IT help desk and am always on the phones, but I can hear all of that noise even with my headset on. I have used the foam-type ear plugs under my headset, but I hear myself breathing and talking and never know if I'm talking too loud.

DT - I read page 84 at work and want to be there, where I can have love and tolerance for people, but I was so spun out on the noises that I didn't even remember to pray. As far as helping others, I was helping with their software issues...haha

The smacking and snapping happens pretty regularly at work and I don't get how they can make all of that noise, because they are analysts too and have to talk on the phones like I do.

Sleepy - I googled "why do these noises make me crazy" and I found a website Soundsensitivity : Selective Sound Sensitivity I guess it's a real disorder. It's call 4S - Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome and people who have it have a lot of addiction problems and OCD and Asberger's Syndrom.

One thing that confuses me somewhat in the 12-step program is people say that the steps are in order for a reason. So, to start working Step 10 (page 84), although I would love to, am I supposed to work it out of order? I REALLY need to find a sponsor and get moving on these steps.

nacona

I've been bothered by mouth noises since I was 12, but today I was over-the-top insane over the gum snapping and carrot chomping. So you might be right that there is something else that might have made the sounds even MORE irritating than usual. I don't know what it is though. I don't really care for my job, but I've haven't cared for it for the 12 years I have been there. I have been working some overtime.....I just don't know. I will write about it. I hear that helps to get to the bottom of issues. Thank you.

sleepie

Well I always lumped it in with my general f***ed upness. There's a name for everything these days- maybe someday all this crap will just be named after me- a.k.a. "Forget it, you're screwed".

yeahgr8

Yep you do...if people eating carrots and smacking gum (which i dont like either) are driving you to think about drinking how will you cope when something "big" happens...everything will change if you get on with the work you know you need to do...

Sasha4

The name for this disorder is 'misophonia' - i think.

It has different levels of severity and treatment is usually SSRI's.

There are lots of triggers - eating noises being a massive one.

If you search the net there are a number of support groups. There is also one on facebook.

My solution - the world should only eat quiet food!!! Carrots should be banned!

xx

kiki5711

I have the same problem. The lady that sits behind me is constantly clicking on the damn key board, even when there's nothing to do. I have to tune out by listening to something otherwise it drives me crazy.

Then at home my dogs are constantly whiney, and they annoy the hell out of me, like needy little vampires.

Then my husband keeps twirling his toes. I mean constantly. I can't even watch a movie with him, cause all I can see it HIS TOES MOVING!!!!

I can't stand when he comes in the morning and eats chips that make crackling noise. One hour in the morning when it's nice and quiet then he eats something that makes noise. I mean why didn't he eat it few minutes before I woke up. BUT NO, he has to do it just when I wake up. Almost like it's on purpose.

He's doing it right now!!!! crunch, crunch, crunch, AT 5:30 in the morning.! I mean for f***k sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, for me it doesn't stop. I don't think it has much to do with alcohol recovery, I've been like that all my life.

Pumpkin Soup

Ha ha Kiki im sorry but you made me laugh so much - TOES MOVING!!!

My ex husband did that and it irritated me too but to see it in writing seemed funny.

I do sympathise though - I never realised it was so common - I often (but not always) get annoyed by certain noises - peoples eating sounds -their breathing esp if they have a cold - SNORING I cannot abide being a light sleeper (even though apparently I snore as well but I think this is when I have been drinking) - my absolute one thing I can never bear though is WHISTLING!!!! Drives me utter nuts. I take it personally even if its a person I have never seen before in my life I think they are doing it on purpose to wind me up! Another I have just remembered is jangling coins in pockets - someone I used to work with did that alot and it drove me to distraction. Oh yeah - another major one - sniffing - that might be worse than whistling.

All these people are quite innocent and happy and just being normal - why am I such an irritable git???? This is not something that is down to my drinking (for a change) I think it has always been there. Going to look up some of the references given by some of you on here when I have time.

An interesting post/thread - thank you. Something else for me to be guarded about that might cause me to slip again.

The step advice sounds good too - I need to start looking for a sponsor - I want to be a better more tolerant person as well as being sober.

Good luck to all - (snort, burp, wriggle, achooooooo, zzzzzzzzzzz, jangle jangle )

Pumpkin

meditation

I remember sitting in IOP in around the 60th day and 2 people in the group chewed gum and the noise was so irritating, it's similar to someone opening a cellophane wrapper in a quiet movie theater and they keep on opening and opening and opening.
I was trapped in that room at the time with what felt like a couple of cows chewing cud. I did not use or drink, I did not go mad, I did almost come undone. I was proud I managed to maintain control of my temper. After about 1 week, one of those girls became of one my best buds in rehab so it really was just the situation. It will pass thankfully.

jamdls

My cell mate err cube mate is a constant muncher and it irritated the heck out of me even before I quit drinking. Chomping on fruit, reaching into a bag of chips making all that noise at times I fantasized about shooting her through the cubicle wall and I'm totally anti guns! So once I accepted that I could not shoot her and I had to live with the situation I went out and bought a desk-top air purifier (the smells of all her foods made me nauseated as well) not only did the air purifier aleviate the smells but it created "white noise" which drowned out the munchers/rattlers noise.

kiki5711

glad I made you smile!!!!


I once had to get off the bus and wait for the next one cause this girl was cracking gum so loud and repeatedly I thought I was going to turn around and attack her.