Christmas Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.

A 23-year-old anticipates seeing her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.

For her, this time of year is a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel intense distress.

"I get this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."

She has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by individuals.

It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers found almost one in five people are affected by it.

Typically it's sounds connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

Triggering Stress

She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread 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 sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals.

Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.

The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.

She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".

"People assume you to be around family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.

"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Handle It

If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.

1. Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. 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 sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.