The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds made by those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises linked to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
