🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. Over the years, individuals develop ways to handle their condition. One young woman anticipates spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal. In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her intense distress. "I experience this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds." Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from those around you. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is planning ways to manage the holiday dinner. She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds. She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Manage If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element 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 the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Over the years, individuals develop ways to handle their condition. One young woman anticipates spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal. In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her intense distress. "I experience this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds." Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from those around you. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is planning ways to manage the holiday dinner. She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds. She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Manage If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element 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 the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.