The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her family over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging time as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and sniffling make her feel intense distress.
"I get this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those made by individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"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 can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
