Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
In her case, Christmas can be a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"I get this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."
The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread across the population. A study found nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My relatives 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 ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
