Minusminnie. Thank you for that. I think it'd all be problematic but, anyway, I'm not even at that stage yet because of the anxiety. But I hope to get there soon.
Bungo. I'm really sorry to hear what you've been going through. Everything you say mirrors what I feel too. I am ok with smaller scale noises, but not the bigger ones you mention. I too have wondered about the link to neurodiversity. I think there is also a link to past trauma, OCD, anxiety and the perimenopause, though I don't expect they know exactly how. Yes, I can imagine that reaction from CBT. I'll see what they say to me. I get so activated and anxious that I don't think it'll be a case of just breathing through it somehow.
Yes, I have a feeling for me, at least, it is about control. There have been times in the last few years when I've been triggered by situations where I feel someone else is affecting my quality of life or upsetting me when they have the power not to, and I don't have the power to stop them. I feel like I need to control the noise situation because of how distressing it feels. But, unless someone is compliant, it's not always possible to control.
It's very hard being very noisy sensitive in a noisy world where it doesn't even seem to bother some people. I've noticed that when people chat in the library, it's only a small subset of people who will challenge that - me being one of them! 😄😉. I guess some people don't want to intervene for safety reasons etc, but I wonder if the people who do intervene are those for whom noise is a problem and somehow intolerable to their senses or morality, or both!