Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - notably for the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
She has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
