🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers. With time, people discover strategies to handle their misophonia. Lottie is looking forward to being with her relatives during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner. For her, the holidays is a notably tough period as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "I experience this wave 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 noises." The individual has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you. It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people suffer from it. Frequently it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about strategies to help her during the holiday dinner. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises. She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There is pressure to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Handle It For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
With time, people discover strategies to handle their misophonia. Lottie is looking forward to being with her relatives during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner. For her, the holidays is a notably tough period as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "I experience this wave 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 noises." The individual has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you. It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people suffer from it. Frequently it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about strategies to help her during the holiday dinner. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises. She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There is pressure to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Handle It For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.