The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman hopes for being with her family over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds made by individuals.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers reported nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound bothering you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting 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 joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
