Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for seeing her family during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
