🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. With time, people develop ways to cope with their misophonia. Lottie hopes for being with her family this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "I get this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers." The individual has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by individuals. It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts reported almost one in five people suffer from it. Typically it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is already thinking about ways to help her during the holiday dinner. The student, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to be around family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts. Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
With time, people develop ways to cope with their misophonia. Lottie hopes for being with her family this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "I get this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers." The individual has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by individuals. It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts reported almost one in five people suffer from it. Typically it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is already thinking about ways to help her during the holiday dinner. The student, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, states currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to be around family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts. Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.