Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a particularly difficult period as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those made by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers found nearly 20% people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
