The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. The idea 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 towards it.
