🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. With time, people discover ways to cope with their misophonia. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner. In her case, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging time as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." She has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts found nearly 20% people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about strategies to manage the holiday dinner. She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises. She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to experts. Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
With time, people discover ways to cope with their misophonia. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner. In her case, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging time as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." She has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts found nearly 20% people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about strategies to manage the holiday dinner. She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises. She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to experts. Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.