Little House On The Prairie's Melissa Gilbert Suffered 'Dark' Disorder

Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert recently opened up about a "really dark and difficult part" of her childhood that caused her to experience "intense" and "unpleasant" reactions throughout her entire life.

The actress recently sat down with People to discuss the negative impact Misophonia (a neurological disability "in which those suffering from it experience strong and unpleasant emotional, physiological and behavioral responses to sound, and sometimes visual triggers") had on her over the years, starting with her time as Laura Ingalls in the beloved 70s TV series.

"If any of the kids chewed gum or ate or tapped their fingernails on the table, I would want to run away so badly. 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."

For years following show, Gilbert assumed she was just rude and enjoyed being a part from others.

"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."

The 60-year-old went on to become a mother and invited Misophonia into her family dynamic unknowingly.

"My poor kids spent their whole childhoods growing up with me doing this. They weren't allowed to have gum."

Upon discovering that the symptoms she'd dealt with for years corresponded with an actual condition, Gilbert set out to change her life and immediately reached out to the Duke's Center for Misophonia for help.

"I wrote in just randomly and said, 'I need help. Please help me."

The actress dove into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 2023 and is more in control of her neurological responses now than ever before. Whenever she feels distressed by sight or sound, she uses the tools (including identifying signs and symptoms) she learned in CBT to silence the trigger. Gilbert is progressing greatly through the treatment process, and even bought her children chewing gum for Christmas last year!