🔗 Share this article Christmas Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia. With time, individuals discover strategies to try to better manage their sound sensitivity. Lottie is looking forward to seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that causes the festive season "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study discovered almost one in five people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is considering strategies to manage Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers. She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." A Few Techniques to Cope If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Picture Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
With time, individuals discover strategies to try to better manage their sound sensitivity. Lottie is looking forward to seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that causes the festive season "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study discovered almost one in five people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is considering strategies to manage Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers. She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." A Few Techniques to Cope If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Picture Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.