Christmas Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her family during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
She has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those coming from other people.
The condition is widespread in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful season can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, according to experts.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
