The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for being with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
The individual has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from those around you.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts found almost one in five people experience it.
Typically it's noises associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
