Christmas Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."
She has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by other people.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can transform into a source of agony for sufferers.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Manage
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
