Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her family during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the noises of family members munching, slurping and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."
The individual has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, particularly those made by individuals.
The condition is widespread across the population. A study found a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Typically it's sounds connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
