🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. With time, sufferers discover strategies to try to better manage their condition. Lottie hopes for seeing her family this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal. In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult season as the noises of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds." Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those made by individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts found nearly 20% people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds. She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
With time, sufferers discover strategies to try to better manage their condition. Lottie hopes for seeing her family this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal. In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult season as the noises of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds." Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those made by individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts found nearly 20% people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds. She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.