Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates seeing her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year is a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
Lottie has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts found almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, 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 young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
