Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman anticipates spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
In her case, the holidays can be a particularly difficult time as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises coming from individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people experience it.
Typically it's noises linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, 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 guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She says her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
