Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For her, the holidays is a especially challenging season as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her intense distress.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers discovered almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting 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 sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to escape distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
