The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to being with her loved ones over the holidays, but says a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year is a notably tough period as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. A study found almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
