Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging time as the sounds of people eating, slurping and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds."
The individual has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts reported a significant portion of people experience it.
Typically it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, states her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
