The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates being with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult season as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises produced by those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers reported almost one in five people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.
She notes her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Cope
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. 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 making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
