Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a especially challenging season as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."
She has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by those around you.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this intense irritation washes 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 difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the particular sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
