The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for seeing her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.
"There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from individuals.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers found nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She notes her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
