Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises coming from individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Typically it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this 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 competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
