Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays is a notably tough period as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."
The individual has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by other people.
The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people experience it.
Typically it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid problematic noises.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
