🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, people have found ways to try to better manage their condition. A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For her, the holidays often feels like a notably tough time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises." She has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those made by those around you. It's surprisingly common amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it. Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is planning strategies to manage the holiday dinner. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard". "There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts. Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Through experience, people have found ways to try to better manage their condition. A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For her, the holidays often feels like a notably tough time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises." She has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those made by those around you. It's surprisingly common amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it. Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is planning strategies to manage the holiday dinner. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard". "There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts. Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.