Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those produced by individuals.
The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers found nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
