🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia. Over the years, people develop strategies to cope with their condition. Lottie anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year can be a notably tough time as the noises of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds." Lottie has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from individuals. It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it. Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My relatives are supportive, 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 make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is planning ways to manage Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize distressing triggers. She notes her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will take over. "It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Over the years, people develop strategies to cope with their condition. Lottie anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year can be a notably tough time as the noises of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds." Lottie has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from individuals. It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it. Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My relatives are supportive, 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 make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is planning ways to manage Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize distressing triggers. She notes her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will take over. "It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.