Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"There's this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by other people.
The condition is widespread in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, 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 dread it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
