Christmas Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her loved ones over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays is a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"I get this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, states her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
