🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, sufferers develop strategies to handle their misophonia. One young woman anticipates seeing her relatives during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal. In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds." She has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you. It is prevalent in the UK. Experts reported nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's noises associated with eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about ways to help her during the family meal. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds. She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Through experience, sufferers develop strategies to handle their misophonia. One young woman anticipates seeing her relatives during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal. In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds." She has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you. It is prevalent in the UK. Experts reported nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's noises associated with eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about ways to help her during the family meal. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds. She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Manage For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.