Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her relatives over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year can be a notably tough time as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
The individual has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those coming from individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Cope
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
