Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates seeing her relatives this Christmas, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For her, this time of year often feels like a notably tough period as the sounds of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."
She has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. A study reported a significant portion of people experience it.
Typically it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate 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 retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
