The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman hopes for being with her family this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by other people.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
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 key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
