After reviewing the footage of my wife lashing out, the court judge has ordered the installation of a muting device in her throat to protect our family. It is activated from a remote control, which always remains in my pocket. Every time she starts screaming, I press the button, and she gets instantly muted. It's amazing. I use it intermittently, just enough for her to give up the attitude. The device has allowed things to go peacefully here. Now she only talks when trying to be effective in her communication.
Ok, this is a joke (for those who aren't sure yet). But it brings us to the question: How do you get rid of the long-lasting screams of name-calling, putdowns, and provocations when you can't just leave home because of kids and working from home?
I have been dealing with it by locking myself in the office while playing music in my huge headphones (
related post). But this isn't effective because I need to get to the other places of the house (such as the kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping room), and then she just keeps doing it. So I thought about two possible home-wide solutions:
A) Echoing device: With simple electronics, a loud echoing device can be built. It would then only get activated when ambient loud sounds above a certain threshold were detected. Then it repeats the loud parts of the sound even louder, but does it with a short lag/delay. So anything that is shouted will be echoed even louder, and that will be disturbing enough for them to get confused and lose their train of thought. It could be a mobile device inside a heavy stealth box that resists being kicked and thrown around. If you add some sound distortion, then it should work well as an entertaining device for the kids.
B) House-wide music: Imagine the same music being played in the entire house at once at a high volume, as if it were a huge party. Relaxing music could be tried but is unlikely to work, so intense music could at least make her voice inaudible. It should be loud enough so that she has trouble listening to herself. Perhaps a music style that she dislikes could help in discouraging her behavior. I'm thinking that hardcore music like Sepultura could make her feel bad about her rampage.
Please be honest. Does that sound realistic or not?
