Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman hopes for seeing her relatives over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study discovered almost one in five people are affected by it.
Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states her strategy is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
