Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.
For her, this time of year can be a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel intense distress.
"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
