🔗 Share this article Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. Over the years, people discover strategies to try to better manage their condition. Lottie hopes for spending time with her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner. In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "I experience this sensation of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers." She has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts found a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. She, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to escape distressing triggers. She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." A Few Techniques to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Over the years, people discover strategies to try to better manage their condition. Lottie hopes for spending time with her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner. In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "I experience this sensation of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers." She has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts found a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. She, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to escape distressing triggers. She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." A Few Techniques to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.