🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, individuals have found ways to try to better manage their misophonia. One young woman anticipates spending time with her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - particularly at the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging period as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety. "There's this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds." Lottie has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds made by other people. The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people are affected by it. Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is considering strategies to help her during Christmas lunch. She, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "People assume you to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Cope If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
Through experience, individuals have found ways to try to better manage their misophonia. One young woman anticipates spending time with her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - particularly at the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging period as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety. "There's this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds." Lottie has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds made by other people. The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people are affected by it. Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is considering strategies to help her during Christmas lunch. She, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "People assume you to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Cope If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.