A DMZ! Great!move the TV and sofa... into the bedroom adjacent to the living room....so that the dining/living room finally will be a neutral "normal" space.
Isn't this a minimum? MIL moving in is one thing, but plopping herself down like Jabba the Hut in the middle of your life is another.
You *are* being observed and not just feeling that way. "And you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting!"I'll be able to get up in the morning without feeling observed. I will even be able to [gasp] sit at the kitchen table in the evening without having to endure any sort of surveillance, theatrics or comments.
I suffer with this too.but any sudden louder noise (that others harmlessly can ignore for a while) pierces my brain and leaves a loud footprint.
Tinnitus, hyperacusis, sometimes-misophonia, and a heightened startle response.
It's exhausting, and sometimes makes me feel victimized.
I always try to carry the soft foam earplugs. They do help and give me a sense of agency
Grocery store announcements bursting thru the often-too-loud background music make me jump.and I was throwing myself down the stairs like a crazy person as the loud clanging started.
Airbrakes-release on buses is painful.
Crashing of bottles in the bin.
On and on.
