Hi, my name is Anna, you may have passed me on the way to recess or accidentally kicked my water bottle over before, so you know me! As you can tell by the title this is book number 2. I wrote and read book number 1 at the beginning of last year, which some of you were not there for. So here goes nothing!

I am 10 years old, which that means for 10 years of my life I have been tormented by something called Misophonia. Yep, that's right Misophonia. Misophonia is a mental condition that makes it so any and almost every sound in the world bothers me! Not just bothers me though, it feels like a nail is being hammered into my head, that's how ¨bothered¨ I am. When someone is singing a typical person would most likely not even acknowledge it. Now I on the other hand hear it around 15x louder and uh let's say 75x more annoying!

Have you ever heard someone scratching their nails on a chalkboard? Let me tell you, IT IS HORRIBLE. It is a loud screechy noise that almost everyone hates. So think about this, every time someone makes a noise even if it is not annoying to anyone else to me it sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

When someone makes a sound that triggers it does not just bother me or annoy me it physically hurts me. It feels like a nail is being hammered into my head. Like if that noise does not stop I will explode. I can't control what noises do and don't bother me so sorry if it comes out like I am trying to be rude.

The auditory cortex in my brain when I hear a sound instead of sending a message saying, actually nothing at all says ¨AWWWW what is that who is that, and why won't they stop¨! It is like both a superpower and a curse. It is extraordinary that I can hear every noise being made in the room I'm in if not the neighbor's room. But curse like because though I can listen to everything I also am bothered… BY EVERYTHING

Things that trigger me

• Chewing

• Tapping a pencil

• Humming

• Singing

• Hitting the bouncy balls

• Wrinkling paper

• Wrinkling plastic

• Loud mouse click

• Open and close water bottles

• Swinging a water bottle back and forth (produces a shaking ice sound)

• Yelling

• The same word or sentence over and over

• Slapping your lanyard

• Clapping

• Cracking your knuckles

• Weird voices

• Baby voices

• Animal noises

• Taking a lid off a marker

• High fives

• Burping (on purpose)

• Bouncing on the balls

• Hitting the legs of the chair on the floor

• Rubbing your hands on the carpet

• Bouncing in the donuts

• Repetitive anything

• Sneakers screeching

• Making long noises

• Hitting things on the table

The worst of all is when I ask someone to stop something politely and they act like they aren't doing anything, or say things like ¨It shouldn't bother you¨ or ¨Why do you suck the fun out of everything we do¨ or ¨It doesn't matter what I do at least to you¨.

Movements

All you think is that the noises are the only thing that bothers me but No, I am also bothered by movements and still poses. It is a mental condition that sends mixed messages into my brain instead of normal messages.

Seeing a movement that bothers me sends a red signal into my brain instead of a normal blue signal.

Seeing a movement that bothers me makes me feel like if I don´t stop the movement the world will collapse on me and fall apart. It physically hurts my head. Like a long pencil is being shoved into your ear. It kind of sucks.

Movements that bother me include:

• Swinging legs

• Fingers in your mouth

• Bouncing high on the ball

• Swinging arms

• Shaking knee

• Swinging id badges

• Rubbing hands together

• Bouncing a ball

• Kicking around

• Spinning around

• Putting your tongue out

• Only sitting on 2 legs of a chair

• Tapping foot

• Tapping table

And so many more. If you are wondering, it is called Misokinesi. Thank you for letting me tell you a little bit more about myself.

About the author

I am 10 years old and enjoying every moment of it. Life has always been a challenge for me but I have found ways to make it through and stay strong. I enjoy writing in my free time. When I grow up I hope to become a therapist and become a part-time author. Writing brings me relaxation and relief. I hope that the message of my book spreads to people who need it and take it as a way to feel more free and open about themselves.