The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult time as the sounds of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
The individual has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds made by those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. A study discovered almost one in five people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a source of agony for those with the condition.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
