Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her family during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a notably tough time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
She has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"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 it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
