Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises."
She has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from those around you.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
