Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert reveals she has misophonia and confesses disorder made her feel like ‘a bad person’
Former Little House on the Prairie contestant Melissa Gilbert recently opened up about her struggles with a disorder called misophonia. It was “a really dark and difficult part of my childhood.”
People with misophonia experience intense fight-or-flight responses to everyday sounds such as chewing, slurping, crunching, throat clearing, and clapping.
“If any of the kids were chewing gum, eating, or tapping their nails on the table, I would just want to run away,” the 60-year-old Emmy nominee told People on tuesday.
“I turned bright red and my eyes filled with tears. I just sat there, feeling miserable and terribly guilty, because I felt so much hatred for all these people – people I loved.”
Melissa continued, “I just looked at my parents, my grandmother, my siblings with eyes of hate. I really thought I was being rude. And I felt really bad. And guilty, which is a huge part of misophonia, the guilt that you feel for these feelings of fight or flight. It’s a really isolating disorder.”
Former Little House on the Prairie cast member Melissa Gilbert has just revealed that she suffers from a disorder called misophonia and that it was ‘a very dark and difficult part of my childhood’
The 60-year-old Emmy nominee (pictured left in 1976) told People on Tuesday, “When one of the kids would chew gum or eat or tap their nails on the table, I wanted to run away so badly. I would turn bright red and my eyes would fill with tears and I would just sit there, feeling miserable and terribly guilty that I had such a hateful attitude toward all those people.”
Gilbert only became more ‘sensitive’ after menopause: ‘As estrogen production decreased, the anger seeped in and really started to affect my daily interactions with loved ones.’
The former SAG chairman eventually reached out to the director of the Duke Center for Misophonia & Emotion Regulation, Dr. Zach Rosenthal, who ultimately diagnosed her: “I cried when I found out it had a name and that I wasn’t just a bad person.”
Melissa then underwent 16 weeks of intensive cognitive behavioral therapy, which changed her life and made her misophonia more manageable.
“This is an emotional issue. It’s about self-regulation and self-control,” Gilbert noted, clenching her feet for an attack.
“I realized that I could ride these waves out, but they weren’t going to go away. They never go away. But now I have all these tools to feel more comfortable and less triggered. It made me feel like I was in control.”
The LA-born, Catskills-based grandmother — who has a younger sister, Sara Gilbert — added, “Now no one has to walk on eggshells around me.”
Melissa even bought her 35-year-old daughter Dakota Brinkman and her 28-year-old son Michael Boxleitner packs of gum for Christmas last year. It was a treat they didn’t get in the past.
Other celebrities reportedly suffering from the disorder include Kelly Ripa, Richard E. Grant, Melanie Lynskey, Sarah Silverman, Lisa Loeb, and Kelly Osbourne.
Melissa continued, “I just looked at my parents, my grandmother, my siblings with eyes of hate. I really thought I was being rude. And I felt really bad. And guilty, which is a huge part of misophonia, the guilt that you feel for these feelings of fight or flight. It’s a really isolating disorder.”
Gilbert only became more ‘sensitive’ after menopause: ‘As the estrogen leaked out, the anger seeped in and it really started to affect me in my day-to-day interactions with my loved ones’ (photo July 26)
The former SAG chair eventually reached out to the director of the Duke Center for Misophonia & Emotion Regulation, Dr. Zach Rosenthal, who ultimately diagnosed her: ‘I cried when I found out it had a name and that I wasn’t just a bad person’
Melissa then underwent 16 weeks of ‘intensive’ cognitive behavioural therapy, which changed her whole life and made misophonia more manageable: ‘This is an emotional problem. It’s about self-regulation and self-control’
The LA-born, Catskills-based grandmother – whose younger sister is Sara Gilbert – added: ‘Now no one has to walk on eggshells around me’ (photo March 10)
Kelly Osbourne (R) revealed on Loose Women in 2018: ‘I’ve walked up to people I don’t know and ripped the gum out of their mouths. My knees are shaking and I’m sweating. Don’t ask, it’s another tick on my list of insanity. I can’t handle it, it’s driving me mad’
Cate Blanchett told W Magazine in 2023 that her conductor character Lydia Tár suffered from it in Todd Fields’ 2022 psychological drama Tár: “She has misophonia. It’s an acute sensitivity to sound, and it can send people into a deep rage. The sound of air conditioning would have driven her to despair.”
“I’ve walked up to people I didn’t know and pulled the gum out of their mouths,” Kelly told Loose Women in 2018.
‘My knees are shaking and I’m sweating. Don’t ask, it’s another tick on my list of insanity. I can’t deal with it, it’s driving me crazy.’
Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett told W-magazine in 2023 that her conductor character Lydia Tár suffered from it in Todd Fields’ 2022 psychological drama Tár: “She has misophonia. It’s an acute sensitivity to sound, and it can send people into deep rage. The sound of air conditioning would have driven her to despair.”
Gilbert hasn’t had an acting job since providing the voice of KIM in the 2022 podcast Marvel Wastelanders: Black Widow and starring as Ruby in Joanne Hock’s 2020 sister drama When We Last Spoke.
The Harris Walz supporter has been married to her third husband, Emmy winner Timothy Busfield, for 11 years, but has previously had affairs with Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Timothy Hutton, John Cusack, Scott Baio, Billy Idol and Dylan McDermott.