Christmas Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to seeing her relatives during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds."
The individual has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts found nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
