Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Typically it's noises associated with bodily functions that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states her strategy is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
