Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her family during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult period as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her intense distress.
"I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those coming from individuals.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Typically it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, along with things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
