Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. A study discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, along with things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. As an example, 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 active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
