Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman anticipates being with her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a notably tough time as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
Lottie has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread in the UK. A study reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, 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 ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.