The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to being with her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the most wonderful season can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
