Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old hopes for being with her loved ones during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by using her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, Christmas can be a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
She has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those coming from individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
