The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman anticipates being with her family over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a notably tough period as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Typically it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Cope
For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
