Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her family during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises."
The individual has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises made by other people.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a living nightmare 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 trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.
She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.