The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old anticipates being with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by using her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and sniffling make her feel intense distress.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers."
She has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from those around you.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered almost one in five people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: 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 at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
