The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays often feels like a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those produced by other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers found almost one in five people are affected by it.
Typically it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason 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 re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
