The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her relatives during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll cope is by using her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year is a notably tough time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds coming from those around you.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season 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 eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, states her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique 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 challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, 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 somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
