He hopes to raise awareness of the rare condition
A teenager has admitted he’s never been able to join his family for christmas-dinner>Christmas dinner due to a rare condition that triggers intense anger at the sound of chewing. Grayson Whitaker, who suffers from misophonia, experiences severe emotional reactions to common sounds such as breathing, yawning, sniffing, and particularly chewing.
The 19 year old’s condition is so acute that he opts to isolate himself in his bedroom during festive meals to prevent an outburst of rage. “I have never had Christmas dinner with my family so I don’t have those nice memories,” Grayson shared with What’s the Jam.
“I just lock myself away in my room.” The situation has been distressing for his parents, Alex, aged 51, and Dawn, aged 54. Grayson expressed his own heartache over the situation: “That’s always been upsetting for my parents. I think that broke them.
“I would loved to have been downstairs with them rather than being stuck in my room on my own but I physically couldn’t because of the sounds.” Grayson described the uncontrollable fury he feels, saying, “It’s an overwhelming rage that comes over me and I don’t want to take it out on them.”
Grayson’s misophonia is a condition that makes him extremely sensitive to everyday noises and even moved out of his family home because he couldn’t bear the sounds his parents made.
Now, he lives with his partner Beth, who understands his condition. Grayson said: “I remember when I was a child having to leave the room if my dad sniffed. The anger was overwhelming.”
“I didn’t know how to speak about my emotions so my parents thought I was being a brat. They didn’t realise there was something actually wrong until I started scratching my legs.”
Grayson has tried various treatments, including private therapy and hypnotherapy, but nothing has provided a lasting solution. He said: “Nobody knows what misophonia is or how to help – I’ve tried everything.”
Grayson’s condition even forced him to drop out of school in year nine. He said: “School was really hard. “I stopped going in year nine and then I isolated myself for five years.
“I just went to my room and stayed there. I ate meals there and I had to learn to enjoy my own company.”
Despite the challenges, Grayson found relief in his job at McDonald’s, where the loud environment helps to drown out triggering noises. Grayson, who has had moments of lashing out at his loved ones due to his condition, said: “In the past, I’ve lashed out at my family for yawning so I try to stay away from people.”
He’s now telling his story to increase awareness about his rare condition. He continued: “My dad tried to explain my condition to someone once and they said I was making it up to get benefits.”
“People don’t really understand which is really difficult. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to suck it up and have Christmas with my family and partner.”
