The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for being with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult period as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. A study found almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
