🔗 Share this article Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia. With time, people develop methods to handle their condition. Lottie anticipates being with her family during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - particularly at the main festive feast. For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety. "There's this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds." Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts discovered almost one in five people experience it. Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely. Jenna is planning strategies to manage Christmas lunch. Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds. She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." A Few Techniques to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: A further strategy 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, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
With time, people develop methods to handle their condition. Lottie anticipates being with her family during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - particularly at the main festive feast. For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety. "There's this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds." Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts discovered almost one in five people experience it. Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely. Jenna is planning strategies to manage Christmas lunch. Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds. She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." A Few Techniques to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: A further strategy 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, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.