🔗 Share this article Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, people discover methods to handle their misophonia. One young woman is looking forward to being with her relatives over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner. For her, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging period as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises." The individual has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you. It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it. Frequently it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is planning coping mechanisms to get her through the holiday dinner. She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts. Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Through experience, people discover methods to handle their misophonia. One young woman is looking forward to being with her relatives over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner. For her, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging period as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises." The individual has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you. It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it. Frequently it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is planning coping mechanisms to get her through the holiday dinner. She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts. Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.