Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, this time of year is a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel intense distress.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. A study discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including things like chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a source of agony for those with the condition.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
