🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers. With time, individuals have found ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to seeing her relatives over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner. For her, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises." The individual has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent in the UK. A study found a significant portion of people suffer from it. Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's clear why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about strategies to help her during the holiday dinner. The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape problematic noises. She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Cope If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
With time, individuals have found ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to seeing her relatives over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner. For her, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises." The individual has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent in the UK. A study found a significant portion of people suffer from it. Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's clear why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about strategies to help her during the holiday dinner. The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape problematic noises. She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Cope If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.