Everyone has things that can grind their gears right? Those “things” are called pet peeves. Pet peeves are something that bothers a particular person. Whether it is when someone eats with their mouth open or when people interrupt, everyone has something that bothers someone else.

The most common pet peeve is when people chew with their mouth open. Another pet peeve for many people is hearing people chew or eat their food. This is actually a neurological condition called “misophonia”. 

“I think the most common pet peeve is people chewing with their mouths open, or people that constantly talk over someone else,” Madeline Pack from Lexington, Oklahoma, a nursing major, said.

Some pet peeves are everyday things that others do or something that was taught at a young age. The pet peeves that one finds annoying, really say a lot about a person. Sometimes it might remind one of something or someone in their past. It also might be focusing too much on the little details that cause one to be anxious. 

“My biggest pet peeve is probably elbows on the table while eating. The elbows on the table are very disrespectful I feel like,” Molly Adams, from Mooreland, Oklahoma, a pre-med major said. 

 As some pet peeves might gnaw at someone and send them into full-blown rage, it might not even be noticed by another.

“A possible pet peeve of mine for someone else could be that sometimes if someone asks me a question, it is like my brain spaced on what they asked; so I have to ask them to repeat themselves several times,” Pack said.

Pet peeves are an annoyance and can be extremely hard to control. There are all kinds of pet peeves including saying “um” too much, interrupting, people who walk slowly, or even people clipping their nails in public. 

“I say ‘um’ and ‘like’ when I speak.” Dhmar Dozal, a Liberal student, said. 

How do people deal with these annoyances? The best thing to do is avoid these triggers. If that is not possible, it is best to take a deep breath, count to ten and try focusing on something else.