Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
For her, the holidays is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.
"I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by individuals.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. A study reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware 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 obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, says her strategy is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Cope
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
