Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie is looking forward to seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays is a notably tough time as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her intense distress.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds coming from those around you.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts discovered almost one in five people are affected by it.
Typically it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, 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 avoid distressing triggers.
She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
