Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie anticipates being with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
Lottie has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds made by other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can transform into a source of agony for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By joining in, instead of 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.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
