Do you suffer from NMS?
C.E. Grundler
WHAT IS NMS?
Noisy Muse Syndrome (NMS) is a psychiatric condition where the individual frequently hears voices in their head, often offering the most perfect dialog and passages at the most inconvenient times. NMS patients are often misdiagnosed as suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)or schizophrenia, but this is not the case. A specific relationship between NMS and fiction writers has been posited several times, with various clinicians noting significant overlap between symptoms and patient behaviors. NMS is not life-threatening, but can severely disrupt normal life in patients.
WHAT CAUSES NMS?
NMS is often brought on by a nagging plot point or passage that a writer simply can’t pin down. The longer this condition goes untreated, the more likely the writer is to have an eventual flare-up of NMS. Triggers include newspaper headlines, song lyrics, movies, books, television, the internet, and random overheard conversations. NMS can hit at any time, but is particularly prone to strike when sleeping or attempting to sleep, showering, driving, or during mundane and routine tasks such as shopping, cooking, and cleaning. Alcohol has been shown to worsen symptoms.
HOW CAN I TELL IF I HAVE NMS?
Symptoms may include insomnia, inattentiveness, forgetfulness, and an overwhelming, urgent compulsion to write on any and every surface that doesn’t move fast enough. Symptoms are said to vary over time.
WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS?
Caution must be taken while operating heavy machinery or power tools, as Noisy Muses have little concern for personal safety, and injuries have been shown to aggravate the condition.
HOW CAN I TREAT NMS?
At this time there is no cure for NMS, though regular doses of Writer’s Block have been found to alleviate symptoms for extended periods. However, side effects of Writer’s Block are frustration, short-temper, loss of appetite, and even worsening insomnia. Many writers suffering NMS report that the cure is worse than the disease, and prefer to manage this condition by behavioral modification such as a steady regiment of writing down each and every idea the moment it starts monopolizing the brain.
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