🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. With time, sufferers have found ways to handle their condition. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by using her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily trigger intense distress. "I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers." The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises coming from other people. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts found nearly 20% people suffer from it. Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is planning coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape problematic noises. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire 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 panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Manage If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts. Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For 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 willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason 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 feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
With time, sufferers have found ways to handle their condition. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by using her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily trigger intense distress. "I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers." The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises coming from other people. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts found nearly 20% people suffer from it. Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is planning coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape problematic noises. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire 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 panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Manage If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts. Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For 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 willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason 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 feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.