Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
In her case, Christmas is a notably tough season as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those coming from those around you.
The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She says her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
