Is Avoidance Adaptive or Maladaptive for Misophonia? |
Whether or not avoidance is a maladaptive coping mechanism is something that psychiatrists and psychologists debate. In the view of some authors, avoidance is a maladaptive behavior because it can hinder social events and learning engagement, and thus should be remedied. This view is simplistic and does not account for the lack of habituation that is shown in persons with misophonia. When we think of misophonia through the lens of sensory regulation and the fight-flight-freeze response, it is only natural that a person with misophonia would want to avoid a trigger or leave the room when it happens. The easiest way to not be distressed is to not be in the presence of the stressor!
Whether or not avoidance is maladaptive or adaptive depends on numerous factors, and almost all of them are up to the individual and, by extension, their families. Social expectations are largely cultural, and whether something like family dinner is something to be adapted to and coped with or something that can be avoided will be situational. For some, the distress at mealtimes is so great that even the........