The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for seeing her relatives this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas is a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, particularly those made by other people.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts found a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy 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, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
