Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman hopes for spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a especially challenging time as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel profound anxiety.
"I get this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common across the population. A study discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response 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."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain 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 doing it. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
