The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman anticipates seeing her family during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
She has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those made by individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts found almost one in five people are affected by it.
Often it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
