Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates being with her family this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a especially challenging season as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing make her feel intense distress.
"There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those coming from individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts reported nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Typically it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia 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 problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
