Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie is looking forward to being with her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year often feels like a notably tough season as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.
"I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."
She has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from those around you.
It is prevalent across the population. Researchers found a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or are troubled. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
