Disorders, Biology and Just Being Nice

On a local radio program, they were discussing a problem called "misophonia." In short, this is a "condition" that causes people to have "a very strong emotional reaction such as hate, anger,anxiety, rage, and resentment" when they hear certain sounds. It usually amounts to sounds made by other people: mouth noises while eating; that sort of thing.

I used to feel disproportionately angry when sitting across the table from my sister or father or mother in the mornings, when I was younger. Whatever noise they might have made made me extremely angry. The clicking of a spoon on the teeth; the slurping of a cup of coffee used to make me boil inside. So, I guess I "have" misophonia.

This radio show got me thinking about my usual stuff, including the idea that it seems to me that we give up too quickly when it comes to undesirable human tendencies, especially when they are a result of a "condition."

Sure, I get that people with Tourettes can't really be blamed for calling you a son of a fishmonger out of nowhere on the morning train, but, I think we search for excuses, sometimes, by labeling things as the result of a "condition."

Again, not always. Some things are beyond voluntary control, I know.