🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia. With time, sufferers have found strategies to try to better manage their condition. One young woman anticipates seeing her family over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult time as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her intense distress. "I get this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds." Lottie has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals. It is prevalent across the population. A study found almost one in five people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to get her through the holiday dinner. She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to escape triggering sounds. She notes her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
With time, sufferers have found strategies to try to better manage their condition. One young woman anticipates seeing her family over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult time as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her intense distress. "I get this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds." Lottie has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals. It is prevalent across the population. A study found almost one in five people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to get her through the holiday dinner. She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to escape triggering sounds. She notes her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.