đź”— Share this article Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers. Over the years, people discover ways to handle their condition. A 23-year-old hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging time as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers." She has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers discovered almost one in five people suffer from it. Typically it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to manage the holiday dinner. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid distressing triggers. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Handle It If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
Over the years, people discover ways to handle their condition. A 23-year-old hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging time as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers." She has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers discovered almost one in five people suffer from it. Typically it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to manage the holiday dinner. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid distressing triggers. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Handle It If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.