The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
She has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts found nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "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 spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.