Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger intense distress.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
The individual has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Typically it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of 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 somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method 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, it could be that they're not at their best or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
