Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman anticipates being with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
The individual has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, 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 season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states her strategy is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
