Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, particularly those coming from other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, says currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
