Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to being with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, Christmas is a notably tough time as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has experienced this condition for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers found a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
