The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for being with her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
In her case, Christmas can be a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
She has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those made by individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. A study reported almost one in five people are affected by it.
Typically it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape distressing triggers.
She says her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at 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 redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
