Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas is a especially challenging time as the noises of people eating, slurping and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers discovered almost one in five people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
