‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Reveals Struggles With Misophonia
Looks like the prairie was darker for child star Melissa Gilbert than we may have thought.
Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls on the legendary TV series Little House on the Prairie, just revealed in an interview with People that she has struggled with misophonia since childhood, which led to some dark days in filming.
"If any of the kids chewed gum or ate or tapped their fingernails on the table, I would want to run away so badly," the mom of two revealed. "I would turn beet red and my eyes would fill up with tears and I'd just sit there feeling absolutely miserable and horribly guilty for feeling so hateful towards all these people — people I loved." She continued.
Years later, Gilbert learned she actually had a neurological disorder called misophonia and discovered she wasn't just "mean."
According to Cleveland Clinic, misophonia is a disorder characterized by a decreased tolerance to specific sounds.
"I sobbed when I found out that it had a name and I wasn't just a bad person," said Gilbert after learning about her disorder.
"I really just thought that I was rude. And I felt really bad. And guilty, which is an enormous component of misophonia, the guilt that you feel for these feelings of fight or flight. It's a really isolating disorder," said the former child star.
The actress said that even though she knew her condition had a name, it wasn't until last year that she learned there was a treatment.
Gilbert said she went through 16 weeks of intensive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to treat her condition.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes