The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for being with her relatives this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.
"There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."
She has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Typically it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
