Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.
For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
The individual has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds made by other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts found nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, states her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.
She says her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Cope
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
