Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman anticipates spending time with her family during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year is a notably tough season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
