Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her relatives during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a especially challenging period as the noises of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises."
She has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by other people.
It is prevalent across the population. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
