"Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her family this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the sounds of other people, chewing, slurping and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable."
"Lottie has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those made by other people. It's surprisingly common in the UK. In 2023, researchers from King's College London and University of Oxford found almost one in five people suffer from it. Often it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping."
"Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it. "My family are understanding, 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 make sure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition."
Lottie, 23, experiences severe misophonia that makes Christmas especially difficult because sounds like chewing, slurping and sniffling provoke panic and bodily tension. She uses earplugs during dinner to cope and feels pressured to tolerate triggers to avoid making others uncomfortable. Misophonia commonly involves reduced tolerance to mouth, throat, or facial movement sounds and other repetitive noises such as breathing or finger tapping. Research in 2023 reported almost one in five people in the UK experience misophonia. Triggering noises at festive events can cause anxiety, dread, and strong emotional responses that may lead individuals to avoid social gatherings altogether.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]