Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.

A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.

For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."

Lottie has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds made by other people.

It is prevalent amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.

Typically it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.

"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee the event goes smoothly."

So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.

Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal 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, explains her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.

She says her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".

"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."

A Few Techniques to Handle It

For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to specialists.

1. Picture an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.