Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
The individual has lived with this condition for several years and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, particularly those coming from individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds connected to bodily functions that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says her strategy is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the particular sound bothering you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
