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Tag: misophonia

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2 posts found
Mar 19, 2025
acx
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13 min 1,962 words 270 comments 305 likes podcast (13 min)
Scott analyzes misophonia through new research and personal experience, suggesting it might be maintained by complex emotional and social networks rather than pure sound sensitivity. Longer summary
Scott discusses misophonia, a condition where people are extremely intolerant of certain sounds, through the lens of new research suggesting it's not just about sensory sensitivity. He explores evidence showing misophonia persists in deaf people, depends heavily on context, and is often worse with close relations. Through his personal experience with the condition, he proposes that misophonia might be sustained by a complex network of anger, social context, and identity, rather than pure sensory overload. He connects this to his previous work on trapped priors, suggesting the condition persists because these networks prevent normal updating of emotional responses. Shorter summary
Apr 11, 2014
ssc
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12 min 1,770 words 80 comments
Scott Alexander speculates about mental feedback loops, their relation to various disorders, and how increased self-awareness might accidentally worsen them. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of mental feedback loops, where emotions or thoughts can spiral out of control. He discusses how the brain usually prevents this, but sometimes fails, leading to conditions like OCD and anxiety disorders. He speculates that making people more aware of their mental states might accidentally increase these loops. The post then connects this idea to serotonergic drugs and their effects on thought patterns, ending with some admittedly speculative ideas about how LSD might affect mental 'loop sizes'. Shorter summary