The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to seeing her family during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish 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 anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
