Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by those around you.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try 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 distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
