Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for seeing her relatives this Christmas, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds made by those around you.
The condition is widespread across the population. A study discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.
She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around 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 panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
