Christmas Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old anticipates seeing her relatives this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, the holidays often feels like a notably tough season as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people are affected by it.
Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than 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.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
