The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a particularly difficult period as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
The individual has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises produced by those around you.
It is prevalent across the population. A study found nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
