Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
Lottie has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Typically it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a university student, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
