🔗 Share this article Christmas Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, sufferers develop methods to cope with their condition. Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast. For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people. It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it. Often it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. She, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I want 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 immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Through experience, sufferers develop methods to cope with their condition. Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast. For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people. It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it. Often it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. She, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I want 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 immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.