Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for spending time with her family during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
The individual has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
