The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by using her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
For her, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
The individual has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by those around you.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts discovered nearly 20% people experience it.
Typically it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
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 want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
