Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her relatives this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a particularly difficult time as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from individuals.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful period can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She notes her condition is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than 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.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
