Christmas Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal.
For her, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study discovered nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Often it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says currently her plan is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
