Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman is looking forward to being with her family over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
In her case, this time of year can be a especially challenging season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.
"There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts reported almost one in five people experience it.
Typically it's noises associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
