#202 - Personal tales and coping with misophonia in Mexico.

S0 E202 - 10/15/2024
In this episode, Rodrigo shares his personal experiences with misophonia, detailing the profound impact it has on his daily life and relationships. He discusses the gradual acceptance his family showed, their supportive shifts after researching misophonia, and the societal challenges he faces, particularly in Mexico where awareness is minimal. The episode highlights Rodrigo's coping strategies, including wearing earplugs in public spaces and using background noise at home to manage triggering sounds. The conversation also delves into the broader implications of misophonia on mental health and social perception, underscoring the need for increased visibility and support for those affected.
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Transcript

Adeel [0:01]:Rodrigo, welcome to the podcast. Great to have you here.

Rodrigo [1:25]: Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here.

Adeel [1:28]: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you want to tell us kind of whereabouts you're located?

Rodrigo [1:33]: I live in Mexico, in Puebla City. It's pretty close to Mexico City.

Adeel [1:38]: Awesome. Awesome. Cool. Yeah. And I guess, what do you do there?

Rodrigo [1:43]: Well, I work in a flour factory. I'm a salesman, so I sell flour to bakeries and to factories and other shops and stuff.

Adeel [1:53]: Oh, lovely, lovely. Okay. Yeah, it's pretty good. Yeah. Well, I haven't had a flour factory salesperson. How is it misophonia-wise?

Rodrigo [2:06]: Well, to be honest, it's pretty good because the offices and everything are right beside the actual factory, so I don't hear the background noise and It's not that bad, to be honest.

Adeel [2:15]: Yeah, I mean, I guess being a salesperson, you get to probably travel a lot, just kind of always move around.

Rodrigo [2:21]: Yeah, I'm always, like, in the car, moving around to different shops and everything, so it's not that bad in misophonia-wise.

Adeel [2:27]: yeah yeah yeah how's i guess how's um yeah maybe uh mexico i think i've had um i'm not sure i've had many people from mexico but like you know mexico city is one of the biggest cities in the world um how is it i guess being being near such a big city

Rodrigo [2:44]: Well, it's pretty good, to be honest. I mean, I don't live in the actual big city, so that's pretty good. So I don't leave all the mayhem in there. But I go, like, some weekends and stuff, we can go there, and it's pretty good to be near Mexico City.

Adeel [2:58]: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And how is, I guess, misophonia awareness around Mexico City?

Rodrigo [3:05]: Nearly zero. Like, nobody understands it, and nobody knows about it, and it's pretty hard in here.

Adeel [3:10]: Yeah. Have you met anyone else that has misophonia by chance?

Rodrigo [3:14]: Just once in my life. He actually passed away very sadly. But he was very curious because I think, well, he used to be a music producer. So I think there must be a link somewhere over there. As much as we hate the noises, we actually love the music as well and stuff like that. So it was pretty interesting.

Adeel [3:34]: Yeah, yeah. Definitely some overlap, I think. I mean, I'm surrounded by instruments here in my office as well. Yeah, I mean, Missophonia, it's a funny name. We definitely don't hate sound, which is what the word means. Yeah. Are you a musician yourself?

Rodrigo [3:53]: Am I what, sir?

Adeel [3:54]: Are you a musician yourself?

Rodrigo [3:56]: No, I love music. I collect records. I enjoy it every single day. But no, I have never played an instrument. But I will one day.

Adeel [4:04]: So when did you hear about Misophonia? When did you hear that it had a name?

Rodrigo [4:11]: Maybe like five years ago. Somebody sent me a link in Facebook or something like, hey, this is what you have. And I started reading and I understood what I started to have. yeah well how long i guess make rewinding all the way kind of wonder maybe some of your earliest memories well the maybe the first time was like um when i was like 13 or 12 something like that and i remember it was with my brother he always used to bite his nails and tap with his feet and everything and that's when i started like to actually get conscious about the problem and then i had a few years like he worked he was pretty mild pretty low and then When I turned like 18, 19, it started like really, really bad in college and everything.

Adeel [4:59]: Gotcha. And at home, so it was your brother. Did it start? Well, yeah, it's interesting. So it went kind of mild. How so? So it didn't like propagate to other family members and other triggers?

Rodrigo [5:12]: I mean, I think it's that I wasn't very conscious about it. Like it was because with my brother, I would tell him like, hey, can you please stop doing this? And he didn't care and he kept doing it. So I started to focus on the thing and the noise. that's what it began but i i'm pretty sure i had it the same way since always but i didn't realize it until afterwards with different noises and different situations that i understood that there was something wrong in the in the situation yeah what did your parents ever notice that you were kind of reacting like that with your brother or did you just kind of keep it between yourself and your brother mean i think they saw it as well but i think they they didn't see like a big problem it was like he's getting annoyed by a noise and that's it didn't go that deep to it right and then like in school or other friends it you didn't really notice it that much like right before college and stuff i remember all like the pain clicking and stuff i will always tell my friends to please quiet down And some of them, they were nice, and they were like, okay, you're weird, but okay, it's fine. But most people were like, I don't care, and they kept doing it, so it was kind of tough.

Adeel [6:20]: Yeah. And did you go away for college? I'm just kind of curious what may have been happening around that time when things start to get really bad.

Rodrigo [6:28]: No, I actually, like, in my city, it's like a university city, so I stayed here in a university. But I think it started going worse because it was people that I didn't know, so I couldn't tell them, like, hey, can you please stop tapping your feet? Like, it was an awkward situation, so I think that escalated it a bit.

Adeel [6:47]: Yeah, yeah. Did you ever end up, did you tell anybody about it, talk to anyone, friends, or even a professional?

Rodrigo [6:55]: Well, professionals I haven't found any yet, and here it makes it even harder, but... But my friends, some of them understood and they tried to stop doing noises and everything. But most people don't take it too serious and they're like, you're exaggerating things. You understand me. People don't actually realize how big the problem is.

Adeel [7:19]: Oh, yeah. It's what were you kind of your coping methods?

Rodrigo [7:21]: Was it like listening to music and just Yeah, like, if I get really desperate, like I avoid the situation, and maybe I will get out of the room or the place or whatever. But mostly is that my, my, my earphones and some music or some background noise or something like that.

Adeel [7:39]: Yeah, yeah. And do you ever ever have any kind of lash out or kind of a blow up with anybody?

Rodrigo [7:49]: yeah i actually have a crazy story in me here but in it's actually pretty weird because here in mexico there are a lot of stray dogs and a lot of people who have their dogs from their like on their rooftops and stuff and so all day long you can hear dogs barking all the time and once it was pretty bad to be honest with my neighbor I, like her dog used to bark maybe eight hours straight, like eight hours all the time, all the time. Every single car that passed, he was barking and his door, the house right next to my house. So I, I actually tried to talk to her, like to offer her, like to do something together, like to pay for maybe a trainer or something. And she got really, really angry that I, like, how can I go and tell her what to do in her house? And she got crazy and, and I lost control. And I, I, I really, I went bad. Like I said, really a lot of bad words and everything, but. Afterwards, I came back and I apologized and everything, and now they moved the dog and everything is better. But it was quite hard, to be honest. It was weird.

Adeel [8:51]: Yeah, wow, interesting. Did she feel bad?

Rodrigo [8:56]: dog or just no i think i think she did it that thing to avoid any escalation because she didn't care about the dog she actually she saw it like the other way like why are you telling me this you're you're crazy this is my house and we're like please understand this is hard for me i don't want to be here but right please let's work together and well at the end it worked well but it was a pretty tough and not not good situation to be honest yeah yeah yeah um

Adeel [9:21]: How about, I mean, yeah, since college, I guess then getting into the real world, other than that incident, kind of how's it been in, I don't know, navigating work and friends and maybe even partners?

Rodrigo [9:38]: No, generally in my life, it's not that bad, to be honest. But like in Mexico, it's a really noisy country and there's a lot of things happening around. And that's the thing that maybe I'm in a, For example, today I went for a massage and stuff and there was in the background always a dog barking. So those are the kind of situations that you start getting annoyed and you cannot do anything about it. It's pretty sad.

Adeel [10:04]: Yeah, that's interesting. I'm wondering, you know, with that much noise, it's just surprising in this day and age that other people wouldn't, there wouldn't be like a Mississippini community that's maybe more visible. Is, I mean, are mental health issues talked about much in Mexico, do you think?

Rodrigo [10:22]: I mean, it's starting to, we're starting to get there, but I can see like from the podcast that I've been listening about you and everything, like, like you guys are way more advanced than we are in here. So,

Adeel [10:34]: It's very hard in here. Gotcha, gotcha. I guess, yeah, where do you live now? Is your living situation a little bit kind of sheltered a little bit? Or protected in some way? Like there's no dogs around you?

Rodrigo [10:49]: No, I still live with dogs all the time around me.

Adeel [10:55]: I'm sure you're not the only one. What are some tips? Do you have white noise machines? Do you just try to get out of the house when it gets really bad?

Rodrigo [11:09]: No, whenever I get a lot of noise, well I have like my room, I have like a big fan which I turn on and it's like the background noise and I have like a little studio to call it like that and I actually have it right now, I'm in here and it's turned on like another, like a small AC that is making as well like a background noise so that filters all the dogs and everything.

Adeel [11:29]: Yeah. Okay. Okay. Gotcha. And, um, yeah, well, that's interesting. I guess since in, yeah, in the last, um, five years or so, uh, well, yeah, I guess how, how's that kind of knowing that misophonia, how's it kind of changed how you cope or kind of think about it?

Rodrigo [11:49]: Well, to be honest, at one point it was like really like a lot of frustration because I don't understand what was going on. And maybe I even felt like shame or guilt, like I didn't know what was going on. But to be honest, like a cousin, I was talking about this subject with him. And he was like, hey, you got to toughen up. You're crazy. You got to grow up. I was like, please, like search a little bit and you'll understand me. And he found the podcast and he sent me the podcast. And after that, it was like a huge relief to hear all the testimonies and be understood by other people. It's amazing. It's like it's the best time that I had about misophonia. Thanks to you. And I really want to thank you about that.

Adeel [12:29]: Oh, I know. I appreciate that. Did you say your cousin did that research and found the link to the podcast?

Rodrigo [12:35]: Yeah, because I was talking about him, about the same, the dogs and the problems that I had with the neighbors. And he was like, you're the wrong, you're the bad guy. You need to grow up and you need to change. And I was like, please understand this is a mental thing. Like I cannot control it. I wish I didn't have this. And he started searching and thanks to God he found your podcast and everything is better now.

Adeel [12:57]: Well, that's great. That's interesting that, uh, so is that, I mean, I mean, that's, that's not an uncommon reaction. It's like, Hey, toughen up, snap out of it. That must be a, yeah. I mean, that's definitely, there's plenty of that here in all over the world, but hopefully that'll get, um, hopefully that'll kind of melt away soon as people, um, as, as there's more awareness. i i guess um how about that you mentioned that shame and you know we always we feel a lot of that shame and shame and guilt um i guess specifically maybe with your with that brother of yours how's your did this affect your relationship with him like are you guys close now or um is it even a factor we get along today we got along really good yeah

Rodrigo [13:44]: of course it was a big factor. Like I would avoid certain situations with him or it was really hard because even though they knew my mother, for example, and my brother, they knew that I had this problem. didn't realize how bad it was so they like they didn't care about it and they kept doing the noises that they always do and it was really hard at one point because if i will tell them to please stop it will become like a situation you know like maybe like a like a 10 situation so it was like me all the time holding everything on instead of talking about with them about the subject and everything and it's it's been quite quite hard to be honest yeah but i got along with them i mean i've taken that away everything is fine with them i mean

Adeel [14:23]: Yeah. And do they know about this funny now? And are they a little bit more accommodating?

Rodrigo [14:29]: Yeah. No, after I told them, like, you see, there's even podcasts and everything. They're, like, starting to understand a little bit more. And they're looking more in my perspective. And I think they're, for example, my mother, she used to eat, like, cheese.

Unknown Speaker [14:42]: Yeah.

Rodrigo [14:43]: And every time she ate the cheese, she'd make, like, a special noise. And now I can see that she doesn't even eat cheese when I'm with her. So she's actually working in it as well. Wow, that's great. Yeah, I'm happy about it.

Adeel [14:54]: so yeah going back to kind of growing up around around that time when maybe it started i'm kind of curious do you want to uh i don't know what was it kind of the picture like at your at your house or your or your life was there any um anything unusual happening anything out of the ordinary or some i don't know difficult situation

Rodrigo [15:12]: Well, I mean, I grew up without a father. Maybe that's like one trauma I can see in my life. But no, everything is good. I had, to be honest, a really good childhood and everything has been great. It's just like something external. I don't understand why it happened, but everything has been fine and a happy life and everything. Everything's pretty good.

Adeel [15:33]: Yeah, that's great. That's great. Any other, I don't know, comorbidities that you're aware of? You don't have to get into them, but you know, a lot of us have like, I don't know whether it's ADHD or anxiety or some other issues. I'm just kind of curious if there's anything else that kind of maybe has overlapped with your misophonia over the years.

Rodrigo [15:53]: No, nothing. Maybe... Maybe a little bit of, like, anxiety and maybe a little bit OCD, but not diagnosed and nothing that bad. I mean, it's pretty mild, to be honest.

Adeel [16:05]: Yeah. And I guess, you know, over the years since you've been working, I don't know, maybe this is your only job. I'm just kind of curious how you've navigated work life in different jobs and whether you've told employers or kind of accommodations.

Rodrigo [16:25]: No, to be honest, in my workspace it's been pretty good. As I work by myself, when I move around by myself and everything, I don't get exposed to a lot of noises during my work. But I guess the worst would be in my neighborhood. Or if I'm in some friend's house or another place, like the background noises in the city, those are the ones that get me crazy. Yeah.

Adeel [16:48]: Yeah. Well, that's great. So you don't have to bring it up at work.

Rodrigo [16:51]: Yeah.

Adeel [16:52]: Yeah. I mean, how about, I don't know, how about in kind of like a...

Rodrigo [16:56]: um you know situations like with partners and stuff have you have you ever like when you've gotten kind of close with anybody have you ever had to kind of like bring it up and kind of navigate it's actually kind of weird because one of the other noises that i hate is when someone snores no like if i slept in a trip with my brother and he was snoring i would go crazy or put my earplugs or stuff and with partners like actually if i i hear her snoring it didn't bother me that bad i don't know why it was like a weird situation oh okay great so yeah i mean of course it bothered me but it was like a different kind of bother not that not that bad not that strong it was like a little a little bit lower no fight or flight but yeah no

Adeel [17:42]: yeah great okay um yeah i know that's that's that's interesting so um yeah you've been able to yeah it's been there but you've been something things are looking up at least nothing um you're able to navigate around and that's great i guess part of the great thing about being in a big city is you can always move around uh of course you can get stuck with with dogs everywhere are there any other um i guess yeah i mean we don't necessarily have stray dogs uh as much maybe in the in the u.s um but are there any other um i don't know things about the about mexican culture that maybe uh um i don't know are maybe i guess warning signs for people who maybe want to visit mexico to kind of take care of

Rodrigo [18:29]: Well, there's a, it's actually something very cultural here in Mexico. We have a, we call them like Pueblos Magicos. It's like some little towns, maybe within the city or in the outskirts. And they always have like a saint. And so when it's the day of the saint, they make like a huge party and everybody goes out in the town walking around. And they throw thousands of fireworks. Like every five seconds, there's a pop every single time. And maybe it's once every...

Adeel [18:59]: every two weeks in a different little town in the city but it's it's i mean it's not every day it's not all the time but when is that day it's crazy it's like all day long you can hear fireworks all the time it's crazy okay yeah no that's good to know because we over here we're always warning each other of fourth of july you know coming up so yeah good to know um yeah so i guess um yeah you said you've met one other person how did you meet that other person who had misophonia

Rodrigo [19:29]: It's actually one of my friends. Well, he has kids in a band here in Puebla.

Unknown Speaker [19:34]: Yeah.

Rodrigo [19:34]: And he was his music producer. And once we were chatting about my problem and everything, he was like, I think this guy has the same problem. And when I met him, I actually told him like, hey, you have the same thing, no? And he was actually like a... like weirded out, like, hey, why are you telling me this? How do you know about this? And I was like, no, I'm telling you because I have exactly the same thing. And once we started talking and talking about the dogs or the pain clicking or someone chewing the gum, it was like, bro, I feel the same. This is amazing. And it was only once I met him for like maybe one hour, but it was also actually really good as well to understand myself with another person in this subject. It was pretty good.

Adeel [20:11]: Yeah, fascinating. So he didn't know what the term was, but he was weirded out because he was like, wow, you're describing me. And that's very, yeah, that's not unusual. It's like when we meet somebody else who has misophonia, it feels like surreal. Yeah. Like we've kind of like shared so many experiences. You said your parents are accommodating you more now. Do you guys talk about the past? Like did misophonia ever create kind of like a, I don't know, a wedge between yourself and your family?

Rodrigo [20:42]: Not a wedge, but I will avoid certain situations. And it created, like, kind of frustrations that I couldn't ask them to stop doing it because they wouldn't do anything. So it became, like, even stronger. But now that they're realizing that it's actually a problem and I told them about the podcast and they researched the name and everything, they start to understand a bit more about the problem. Like, they're pretty happy about it that I'm actually doing something and finding something to, I don't know, either to understand what's going on or how to fix it or

Adeel [21:12]: yeah yeah what about like extended family you know um you know something you haven't met anyone else else who has been to misophonia so um and your your cousin has kind of come around to help you but any indication of maybe anyone else in the family in any generation maybe having like a sound sensitivity they're like my mother's brother

Rodrigo [21:33]: He actually passed away as well, but he used to hate when someone chewed with his mouth open. I think it was like a little misophonia, like a mild misophonia, but it was the only noise that he didn't like. The other ones he didn't mind, but if you chew with your mouth open, he will go crazy. He was the only family member that I can think about right now.

Adeel [21:55]: Gotcha. That's your mom's brother. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, you know, the jury's still out as to, like, how much genetics is a factor. I personally think there is a little bit of a factor of many things. Genetics, epigenetics, and then environmental stuff to kind of, like, predispose someone maybe to have, to eventually develop misophonia. But it's interesting to hear other, yeah, stories of other family members who may have had it. Yeah, I mean, you've been listening to the podcast. Any kind of episodes that have kind of stuck out to you at all or that you kind of, I don't know, resonated with?

Rodrigo [22:35]: Well, I don't know which episode it was, but it was one with a woman that she had the alopecia or the thing about the hair.

Adeel [22:44]: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Rodrigo [22:45]: And it made me realize I actually have acne. Not that bad. It's actually getting better. But I thought about it maybe being in constant tension and everything. Maybe it actually affected my body to develop that stress response. I think maybe the reason.

Adeel [23:01]: Yeah, well, stress is definitely an exacerbating factor. But yeah, I mean, I don't know much about the origins or the reasons for acne breakouts. But I mean, I think misophonia is a response and acne is a response as well. Whether they're linked or not, it's maybe moot. But yeah, I'm glad that you're kind of making the connection too. misophony being a response to to something happening inside you yeah and stress you know stress is a problem that comes out in many ways that you know i think for some people it comes out as misophonia other people it comes out as something else um so no that's interesting yeah i remember that episode um um going back it's a yeah woman who's got her uh she owns a restaurant in north carolina exactly um very cool

Rodrigo [23:58]: It actually was pretty interesting that she used to talk like when she was in another restaurant, she will go crazy in one second. And when she was in her own restaurant, she could control more the anxiety and everything because I don't know, I think maybe it's something to do with control or something like if you're in your own place or situation, maybe it's milder. And if you're in another place, you don't have the control and you start to feel the anxiety and all the things.

Adeel [24:27]: Yeah, I think it has a lot to do, contrary to, I think, what maybe some quote-unquote professionals think. It's not about us needing to, you know, being control freaks or perfectionists or anything. It's more about boundaries. I think there was a... For a lot of us, when we were children, there was a crossing of boundaries that we... something in our bodies did not want to have happen and so that memory has kind of stuck with us and i feel like um yeah like you said like if um if we feel like we have a sense of control it's more like the boundaries will be clearer to us and we're not as afraid of the boundary being crossed yeah yeah we know we can stop the situation we want we can leave or we can do anything and if you're in another situation that is not under your control you're

Rodrigo [25:21]: You're only there just expecting whatever is going to happen. That's the thing.

Adeel [25:27]: So do you, I'm curious, yeah, this is a great epiphany. Do you think about that when you're, I don't know, when you're kind of entering a potential triggering situation or when you're being triggered? Or is it more, because these kinds of self-talk kind of things are self-soothing, are definitely like a kind of a coping strategy that people use. I'm curious day to day if you're thinking about misophony and trying to kind of like think about these factors and if that helps. Or do you just kind of play, just kind of go into the world unprepared?

Rodrigo [26:02]: I mean, there's, I mean, to be honest, I try to make me so phony. I don't affect me the most that I can. And if I need to be somewhere, then there are noises and I need to be there. Well, I go there, even though I'm feeling anxiety and everything, I'll be there because I don't, I don't want it to affect my life that much. But there are certain situations, like for example, the, the movies, I love movies and the cinema and everything. And every time I'm going to the cinema, I'm anxious before because I know there's going to be popcorn and people tucking their feet and everything. So I go prepared. I take my earplugs and if it goes crazy, I put my earplugs and it's like it covers the background noise and you can actually hear the music. The movie, not that good, but... Like maybe a 60% you can understand and that's enough for me just not to feel the anxiety.

Adeel [26:46]: Oh, that's great. So you pop in some earplugs and yeah. I guess that's my fear always with earplugs is like, is that going to take away too much from the movie? And am I going to still hear something and then kind of hone in on it is my worry. But that's great that it's at least for you,

Rodrigo [27:06]: seems to be at least just kind of subduing the trigger so you can maybe focus more on the actual movie yeah and to be honest i try to avoid the movies most that i can like if it's a if it's a brand new movie well i will go to the cinema but if it's available on my tv or my apple tv i will stay in my house and watch it with my friends in my house like i prefer to avoid any other situation

Adeel [27:28]: And you give your friends instructions on what they can eat.

Rodrigo [27:35]: Not that much, but maybe if there were popcorn in my house, I will maybe hide them in another drawer so they don't see them. Or if I have some chewing gum, I will actually put it in another place so they don't take one piece. Avoid the situation in which they can actually start doing those noises. Right, right, right, right.

Adeel [27:52]: Are there any kind of other, I don't know, you've heard the podcast, you've probably done your research. I'm kind of curious if there's any other strategies or therapies that you're kind of curious about. I know it's kind of hard maybe in Mexico to find some professionals or...

Rodrigo [28:09]: yeah in here well the most that i've done like that with a psychologist i i went on well about other things and stuff but i was talking about the misophonia and i mean i think he didn't actually understood the the big problem he thought it was like uh i don't know like uh i don't know what's the word like uh response about a trauma or something in my early like maybe when i was a baby or something and he actually told me that the best way to to do it was to like actually be present in the noise and listen to it a long time and it should go away but i tried that more than once and it doesn't happen yeah so he's going with the exposure therapy no i don't think that's i don't think that's the answer

Adeel [28:52]: No, no, right. Yeah, that's been debunked quite a few times. Interesting. Okay, so you did... Yeah, go on.

Rodrigo [29:03]: Sorry, but there's another situation that I can remember. One of my friends used to study psychology. And they had to do like a... It was like a test, like their final exam. And they had to take people with phobias and stuff. and they would put them in front of a screen and they would put like some instruments on their arm like they would measure the tension on your skin yeah and so for example the the woman that had arachnophobia they would put the spider and she will go tense and the graphic will go up like really high no like she was very tense and when they connected me and they started to chew around me and to click the pen nothing happened it was really weird like i didn't feel anything it was like i think it was because i was actually looking for it like trying to do something and nothing happened like everybody was really weird out and i remember someone was telling me like hey i think you're lying and i got really really angry like how am i gonna be like i'm trying to fix this like it was it was really weird but it was it was really interesting that when i was actually looking to listen to that noise nothing happened it's something weird that i i saw

Adeel [30:09]: Yeah, that's why I'm skeptical of a lot of designs of these so-called scientific experiments of misophonia that are kind of manufactured. Because if it is like a fear response and about, you know, boundaries and control, like if you know you're kind of in an experiment... Yeah. And your, I don't know, at least my brain would not, um, the fear response wouldn't, wouldn't go as, you know, wouldn't activate as much as if I was kind of out in a strange place and then I was suddenly triggered. Um, or if I was at, uh, if I was kind of around my biggest triggers, yeah, and I was, you know, I was being triggered, I kind of out of the blue.

Rodrigo [30:53]: i know i'm in a controlled space like i'm less likely to kind of go yeah yeah yeah it's something about like situation i don't know what but there's something there and i think i can go deeper in there and understand more about it but yeah and maybe i go i got up outside of that classroom and somebody was clicking a pen and i would feel the thing that i always feel so it was it was pretty interesting to be honest

Adeel [31:19]: Yeah, any other kind of like, I don't know, interesting memories from the past of your experiences with misophonia that have kind of come to, that maybe you've kind of, I don't know, you always knew it was misophonia, or maybe kind of you look back and you're like, oh, that was kind of affected by misophonia, that relationship or that, you know, that memory.

Rodrigo [31:40]: Well, like, that it comes to mind right now, nothing that bad, but yeah, of course, I've For example, I have certain friends or brothers of friends of mine that they chew really bad or they make a lot of noises. I remember one day they used to have some kind of braces and he would take it off and put it on and take it off and put it on. Of course, I avoided him the most I could. I mean, he's my friend and everything, but maybe if I didn't have the problem, he would be an even closer friend, you know?

Adeel [32:13]: Yeah, no, that's definitely come up a lot is like how misophonies kind of affected the path of friendships and, you know, family relationships as well. It's kind of interesting. And, you know, maybe as you, yeah, maybe as years go by, you might find misophones who you become friends with.

Rodrigo [32:35]: That definitely happens. I wish that happens.

Adeel [32:39]: There's got to be. I mean, with like tens of millions of people in Mexico City, there has to be some kind of a community.

Rodrigo [32:46]: And I think the sad thing in here is that most people don't even know about it. Like, there might be people living in a place full of dogs and a lot of noise and the trucks going on and everything. And they don't know what's going on. And they might even feel that they're crazy or something like that. I mean...

Adeel [33:05]: people probably make choices that kind of maybe limit their, um, uh, the things they can, the things they do in life and I don't know, career opportunities or academic opportunities, um, or hobby opportunities because of misophonia because, you know, well, because like you said, they think they're crazy. Um, so I think if there's more of a community, then some of that can be, those fears can be allayed.

Rodrigo [33:30]: yeah i think it's really important like for us that we have the problem to actually make the awareness for people to start realizing it's actually a real thing that is it's not us it's like a it's a thing that we have and it's important for us to to share this idea with people and make people understand so in the future people don't suffer what we have suffered

Adeel [33:50]: Yeah, I think when this goes live, I definitely want to try to, yeah, put a call out to see if there are people listening in Mexico to see if we can kind of build a bit of a community there.

Rodrigo [34:03]: And if you need any help doing anything in Spanish or anything, I'm here. I want to help as long as I can.

Adeel [34:08]: Yeah, yeah. No, I appreciate it. You know, yeah, I've got a number of listeners in South America. Brazil, for some reason, has quite a big population that knows a lot about misophonia. So if we could kind of spread a little bit of that up into Mexico, that'd be great. Yeah, of course. I'll hip out. yeah yeah yeah no appreciate it um yeah well yeah rodrigo i mean you know this has been great to kind of learn about any anything else i guess yeah i guess you want you want to share our messages you have for people you can even be in spanish uh you know for people listening well i'll say it in spanish just for the spanish listeners but

Rodrigo [34:55]: What I'm saying is that if there's someone around in here that has this problem, don't feel alone, don't think they're crazy and that we are here for them and it's a community that we're trying to create.

Adeel [35:20]: That's beautiful. Yeah, I think when I do the social media soundbite, I'm going to pull that part out. Perfect. Yeah. Well, great. Yeah, Rodrigo, thanks again for coming on. This has been great.

Rodrigo [35:31]: No, and thank you so much. I really appreciate what you're doing, and it means a lot to me, and I'm here to help. Whatever you need, I want to help people out because I know what it's like to have it and not understand it and feel all the things, but we know what's going on right now, and let's do the best we can.

Adeel [35:50]: Thank you again, Rodrigo. Yeah, let's get that community going in Mexico. And I hope people listening here can reach out and connect. If you liked this episode, don't forget to leave a quick review or just hit the five stars wherever you listen to this podcast. You can hit me up by email at helloatmissiphoniapodcast.com or go to the website, missiphoniapodcast.com. It's even easier to send a message on Instagram. at Misophonia Podcast. Follow there or Facebook at Misophonia Podcast and on X or Twitter, it's Misophonia Show. Support the show by visiting the Patreon at patreon.com slash Misophonia Podcast. The music, as always, is by Moby. Until next week, wishing you peace and quiet.

Unknown Speaker [36:56]: Thank you.