The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.

Lottie anticipates seeing her relatives during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.

For her, this time of year can be a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel intense distress.

"There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."

She has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from other people.

It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people experience it.

Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

Triggering Stress

She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.

"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."

So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.

Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid distressing triggers.

She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".

"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

"I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over.

"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Handle It

If you suffer then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.

1. Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
2. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.