Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie is looking forward to seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging season as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing trigger intense distress.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
She has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, explains currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to specialists.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
