The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises."
The individual has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by those around you.
The condition is widespread across the population. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.
She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
