Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman anticipates seeing her family this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
In her case, this time of year is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds made by individuals.
The condition is widespread across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people are affected by it.
Often it's sounds associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
