🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia. With time, sufferers discover methods to cope with their misophonia. A 23-year-old hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast. For her, the holidays can be a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "I experience this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers." She has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those made by those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. Experts found almost one in five people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is considering strategies to get her through the family meal. She, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "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 you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
With time, sufferers discover methods to cope with their misophonia. A 23-year-old hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast. For her, the holidays can be a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "I experience this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers." She has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those made by those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. Experts found almost one in five people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is considering strategies to get her through the family meal. She, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "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 you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.