🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, sufferers develop strategies to handle their condition. One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal. In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises." The individual has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people. It is prevalent across the population. A study reported nearly 20% people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape problematic noises. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
Through experience, sufferers develop strategies to handle their condition. One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal. In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises." The individual has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people. It is prevalent across the population. A study reported nearly 20% people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape problematic noises. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.