🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, individuals discover methods to handle their condition. One young woman hopes for being with her relatives this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. For her, Christmas often feels like a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers." The individual has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those coming from other people. It is prevalent across the population. Experts found a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is already thinking about ways to manage Christmas lunch. Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Handle It If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to experts. Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
Through experience, individuals discover methods to handle their condition. One young woman hopes for being with her relatives this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. For her, Christmas often feels like a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers." The individual has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those coming from other people. It is prevalent across the population. Experts found a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is already thinking about ways to manage Christmas lunch. Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Handle It If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to experts. Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.