The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.
For her, Christmas can be a notably tough time as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel intense distress.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study found almost one in five people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
