Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts found nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
