Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.

One young woman anticipates being with her loved ones this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.

In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."

The individual has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people.

The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.

Typically it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

Triggering Stress

Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.

"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."

So it's clear why the most wonderful period can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition.

Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.

The student, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to escape problematic noises.

She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".

"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will activate.

"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."

Three Ways to Cope

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

1. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.