🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. Over the years, people discover methods to cope with their condition. A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers." She has experienced this condition for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds made by those around you. It is prevalent in the UK. A study found a significant portion of people are affected by it. Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is considering ways to manage the family meal. She, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Handle It If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists. Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
Over the years, people discover methods to cope with their condition. A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers." She has experienced this condition for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds made by those around you. It is prevalent in the UK. A study found a significant portion of people are affected by it. Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is considering ways to manage the family meal. She, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Handle It If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists. Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.