Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old anticipates being with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays can be a particularly difficult time as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds produced by those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people are affected by it.
Typically it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She notes her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
