Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her relatives over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by those around you.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She says her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears 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 use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
