Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her relatives over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a particularly difficult period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers discovered almost one in five people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
