Latest / Pete Vs Anxiety!!!!! / The Inner Demon Crusher
Transcript
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Head over to the link in this episode and use my code, Pete, at checkout to get 20 % off your first month subscription to PsychPAL. PsychPAL, because your mind deserves a companion too. There we go. I think that's the one I like. We got it. We got it. Boom. peter: but Pete: went to doing like pre-recordings. Well, Keith, we're at the part of the interview where I'm gonna ask you those two questions. All right, Amanda Landes: that I had been kind of like since head for a while about about writing the story because Mia Mason: you are not the only one that experiences thoughts, Pete "mental Health Champ": Well, Dr. Erica, before we start wrapping up, I'm going to ask you Pete "mental health champ": Hello, and welcome to another exciting episode of Pete Fricks Anxiety. Guys, before we get started today, let's give a shout-out to my partners over at PsychPel. link will be in the description of the episode, as always. You get that 20% off use Pete at checkout. Guys, with that being said, my guest today has a very laundry list of things, but let me list some of them for you. She's a front woman of a metal band, a sports conditioning specialist, a driven entrepreneur, somatic practitioner, an integrated trauma. Healing coach. Please welcome in the one, the only Lilia Gog Bogav Bogave. I'm sorry I'm messed that up, Lily. I'm so sorry. Lilia Bogoeva: yeah. Sorry, I forgot to go over that with you. Lilia Bogoiva. Pete "mental health champ": Ogoiva. There you go. See, I got it that time. But anyways, Lillian Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Yes. Pete "mental health champ": is here because she is the the creator of the Lillian, the Inner Crusher comic book. You know, amongst everything else, like like Lillian's got it, she's got a monster resume here, guys. Like very impressive. So why don't you tell everybody a little more about yourself? Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, I do a lot of different things for the same general purpose. I'm all about helping people uncover their inner strength, take their fears and struggles, turn them into something tangible, see what they can overcome and Give them the motivation they need to then overcome that, which is eating at them. So that's what I mean by my slogan over here: crush in your demons, live in freedom. Because we all have something inside of us that is working against us. So as soon as you figure out what it is, make it make sense, you can make a battle plan to go and crush it, and then earn your personal freedom. Pete "mental health champ": I love it. I love it. I'm gonna I'm gonna Lilia Bogoeva: Thanks. Pete "mental health champ": say it though. I I loved it. I loved it when the first time we met when you, me, Elliot, and everybody else were all hanging on that panel together. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, that's cool. Pete "mental health champ": I thought it was so cool. I was like, that's really cool. so I like Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, thank you. Pete "mental health champ": I was telling you before we hit record though, you're you're doing bon minimal things here. You've got all those things going when you have the comic book, the music, and then everything else you're doing, man. Like, like you've got like I don't know how you got time to do anything else, honestly, but I'm impressed. I'm not gonna lie. Like you Lilia Bogoeva: I don't either. Pete "mental health champ": you just you keep going, girl. Lilia Bogoeva: I do not know either, but somehow it works. Well, Pete "mental health champ": Right. Lilia Bogoeva: yes, that's actually a good question. How do you balance multiple avenues? Well, I would say that the most important thing is figure out what is a binding glue amongst all of them and keep that purpose at the forefront. So, like, for Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: example, my music with the band Carcaza is not just about making headbangable metal music. It is spreading that message of empowerment to my audience. Then everything reflects that from the music in the instruments to the lyrics to how I talk to the audience at our shows. I'm all about bringing up that empowerment to people but without bounding like a Tony Robbins kind of motivational speaker. I don't do it that way. I do it more by appealing to what people are feeling. Now when it comes to my comic books, this one, the Inner Demon Crusher series. The first one is called Workaholism versus Foodborne. The titles, yeah. It's again, it's a story that is a satire on my own journey. Becoming a musician and entrepreneur in my own right, you know, between the struggles against the inner demons, finding meaning in music, by the forces of heavy metal, I have the power, crush the inner demons with the power of music. Food porn is used as an analogy of the things, the temptations that we try to escape, but that really are. Going to make the root problem even worse, and about how you've got to actually confront them to find joy in all that you do. And like in addition to that, I'm also a professional dog trainer and dog therapy, a therapy dog handler, because I fully believe in the power of animal-assisted therapy to help people improve their mental and physical health at the same time. So all of those things, it's about the purpose. To me, it's not about the surface level, what do you do? It's about why you do it. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Yeah. I'm look I'm impressed. I'm I'm sitting here just in awe, Lilia Bogoeva: Thanks, dude. Pete "mental health champ": but all the things that you're doing. Like like I said, this is like the comic book nerd in me loves the comic, honestly. I looked at it, I've seen it, I've checked it out. I'm I'm a huge nerd, so Lilia Bogoeva: Cool. awesome. Pete "mental health champ": I love it. I and like I said though, I know the music, I'm heavy Lilia Bogoeva: Mm-hmm. Pete "mental health champ": metal too. So you got me on that one too. So I was like, all right, two Lilia Bogoeva: No. Pete "mental health champ": for two on this one, you know. And I I I just think it's really cool though that you you're basically putting yourself into a comic book. And you're telling people about your own journey as long as you go and then then everything else you're achieving along the way too. It's just it's quite impressive, to be honest. Like I said, though you you even have the live stage performance, don't you too? Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, yes, that is true, because I perform live with my metal band Carcaza, but I also perform live solo. So what I do in my solo performances, it's sword spinning and dancing. So my shows are it's ironic. I do less talking and more action. You know, when I do my solo sword spinning shows, I do very little talking to the audience. It's like I dance to one song, then give a message. Then dance to another song, give a message. But my shows follow a storyline where I'm playing a character who needs to battle her inner demons. So I'm literally slashing them with my sword. So I'm making it visual and visceral. It's interesting because that's where I do it through body language and feel instead of through Specific words. So it's just another way to reach people for the same overall cause, but in a different way. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Yeah, definitely though. But it's it's a like I said though, I think it's pretty cool, honestly. Like you're you're playing the music, then you're doing the little speech between You got the comic but you're pushing. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, thank you. Pete "mental health champ": You know, you've you've got all these things going on. So is is the is the comic book gonna be a series? Are you gonna take on different challenges you think maybe later on? Or have you have you thought about what the next book's gonna be like? Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, I I definitely definitely want to make another installment of the series. So this year in 2026, I'm extremely busy recording the next Karakaza Metal album. So I won't be able to make an inst another installment this year, but I am planning on making a new installment next year. So continuing the Inner Demon Crusher series with a different storyline. Again Still about crushing those inner demons and winning freedom. So yes, that's why I I say like everyone should follow Pete "mental health champ": L I'm tell guys listen everybody I'm listening, I want you I want y'all to understand this woman just said she's re doing another studio on top of everything else she's doing. Like like I said, Lily, it's Lilia Bogoeva: Mm. Pete "mental health champ": it's impressive the things you're you're you're accomplishing, man. Like you're you're crushing it out there. I love it though for you though. I think Lilia Bogoeva: man, I am glad. Pete "mental health champ": it's great. I'm I think it's great, honestly. I think your Lilia Bogoeva: Aye, I'm glad. Pete "mental health champ": your energy is high level energy. You're doing all this stuff, you're doing these things, you know, and I I think it's really cool. I think the comic book definitely you definitely should do another one. Figure out what the next subject, what the next adventure for the the inner demon crusher is gonna do next, you know? And it'd be kind of cool to see where you take it, and then like you can introduce different villains, like like maybe different villains like mental health villains, you know, like there's this person there doing Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, yeah, Chris. Pete "mental health champ": and then the crusher comes in to fight him. You know what I'm saying? That'd be so cool though. Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, like in this first installment, the inner demon that I showed is about emotional wounds, like hidden Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: subtle trauma. So basically it represents complex trauma, like CPTSD, because over here it says hard work hid emotional wounds, but inner demons kept leeching on her darkest feelings. So people who are struggling with CPTSD, they have that feeling like something's just not right within me. There's a lot of darkness in my mind, there's a lot Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: of tension in my body, but you can't necessarily pinpoint one specific event that caused that, unlike traditional PTSD, where it's very clear what exactly caused that. And I wanted to portray that type of inner demon and this book because it's something that so many people struggle with. but can't put it neither into words nor into images. So that's what I did with that. Pete "mental health champ": I think it's a really cool idea, honestly. There's another author, Lilia Bogoeva: Right. Pete "mental health champ": she did something similar with hers. she created anxiety land and it was like a theme park for her anxiety. So Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": I love the idea of the comic book style because it's endless of what you can do. And a lot of people, like you said, can't really tell you what it is, but if you know the pictures help a lot of times, they can relate to things that they're looking at. Like, okay, yeah, that's what it feels like. It's similar to this, you know, or or maybe you're hitting it straight on for some people, which you know, with hers, it was kind of interesting because. The way it goes, it's almost similar to your style too, the way you're doing it. And then hers is just like like depicting the different things. Like hers is anxiety, depression, things like that. You're tackling some of the bigger issues, which is really cool too, because you're putting it into pictures for people, for people that can't explain things, you know, and giving them a reference point a little bit too. You think about it, because then they can go, well, you know, I I I don't really know how to say it, but this is kind of what it would look like. You know, I'm saying using your book as a reference, be like, well, you know, yeah, well, Olivia's got, you know, the But you know, demon crusher explains it well and then pull it out and show it to people and then people start f you know what I mean? And it starts a conversation. what's that? I've never seen that before. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, that's a a good point that you make. Yes, because in this one I'm tackling the inner demon of underlying trauma. But yes, in the Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: future series, I'll definitely make different storylines. So for example, with my sword spinning demon crusher act, I perform at a lot of Renaissance festivals and comic cons. So this storyline about finding power through metal music already appeals a lot to the Comic Con crowd, but I definitely want to make a Renaissance slash medieval fantasy themed comic because I really want a story Pete "mental health champ": Be that'd be kinda cool too, yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: to go directly with the Renaissance fair theme because I already Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: am doing a lot of Ren Fares. So it would be the same general idea about personifying the inner demons, but this time in a Renaissance fantasy universe. So I can do a lot with dragons and swords and Pete "mental health champ": I think I think it'd be pretty cool, honestly, you know, a lot of Lilia Bogoeva: cool stuff. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Yeah, that'd be really dope. I think that'd be cool to see what you come up with that one too, Lilia Bogoeva: Mm. Pete "mental health champ": because a lot of stuff relates back to the Renaissance and a lot of movies and and TVs and books and so it's really cool to see what you'll do with it. I I'm I'm curious to see what you're gonna do with honestly. I'm looking forward to checking that out for sure. you know, for sh would Lilia Bogoeva: Thanks. Pete "mental health champ": definitely cause that'd be kind of cool. 'Cause I you like like I said, I'm I'm a comic nerd. I love anything comics, really, Lilia Bogoeva: Two. Pete "mental health champ": man. Like in the medieval stuff, I love the Renaissance fair type stuff. All the nights and everything else and all the other really cool stuff, you know, because like the endless possibilities of things you can come up with, you know, in in the different adventures she could go through, you know, what it's like, her doing, you know, the sword dances and all the other stuff it like the endless possibilities of things you can do. And at the same time, you can help people better understand things too, which you know, a lot of people some people are more visual learners versus, you know, people just telling them something. So that's the great thing about the Avenue of that too. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, thank you. That means a lot because you know, whenever I start a new project, there are no guarantees about how it'll be received and how people will relate to it. But I get a huge reception to this first comic book that I created. People see it right away, like, my gosh, Inner Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: Demons and then the funny title, Workaholism versus Food Porn things that Pete "mental health champ": I love the title. Lilia Bogoeva: People can relate to you because again, food porn is used here as an analogy for how a lot of people fall into toxic workaholism because they're trying to cover up those hidden emotional wounds by always being productive and people pleasing. And then they look for sweet escapes, like in this case. getting extremely into food porn, but say like my character yells at people like, it's not good enough, it's not right. I will get this perfect. So we have toxic perfectionism here as well. We have burnout, anxiety, and then trying other things like drinking, smoking, shrooms. Prescriptions, bad trips, and all of that stuff, and just trying more and more things that try to cover up the root cause but don't actually heal anything. And then later on, she realizes that she must reconnect with her passion for music, and then all of a sudden. The food porn stuff actually becomes fun instead of painstaking because she's doing it literally for fun. She's like, I'm gonna bake this cake for fun and enjoy it, even if it's not perfect. So it shows that when Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: you reconnect with your purpose, you can do the exact same things that you were doing before, but now have fun with them. So you don't always have to give up what you're doing. Like you can have a lot of anxiety. Around your music, your business, your hobbies, but those aren't what's causing your anxiety. It's hidden emotional pain that's causing it. An activity like performing with a band. It can either be extremely fun and fulfilling, or it could be exhausting, painstaking. Anxiety inducing, all depending on how you approach it. So this message is about how people should not run away from their problems and not keep bouncing from one quick thrill to the other, but rather actually face the root cause and battle those inner demons to find fun in what they're already doing. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Listen, first off, hats off to you for bringing up burnout because a lot of people experience it. Not a lot of people talk about it. You Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": know, a lot of people these days are burnt out, don't even know what that even is. And then when you start explaining Lilia Bogoeva: Mm. Pete "mental health champ": some of the things to them and the and what it really looks like, a lot of people are like, hey, that's me. And that's you know, a lot of people didn't know you know what that was, you know. But I love that you're touching those because not a lot of people, you know, there there's some people doing great things in that, but you know, a lot of people don't know what burnout is still, you know. And I think that you touching into that subject is really cool though, because, you know, it's not really one that a lot of people bring up a lot of times. And now, you know, a lot of us are burnt out from a lot of, you know, working all the crazy Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": hours, like you were saying, you know, like you get slaved away by your job, sucks you in, and then you don't realize that you're getting burnt out. And when you get to that point, like there's certain things that you you start exhibiting that people don't even realize, you know, that they they may not even realize that that's what's going on though. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, it's A lot of reasons why I think that happens. First off, I think burnout is normalized and then glorified in our society. It's like if you're not experiencing harsh burnout, you're not working hard enough, you gotta be driven. Pete "mental health champ": Exactly. Lilia Bogoeva: It's like it's part of it, hustle and grind and all of that. It seems like culture doesn't think that balance is cool until it's absolutely necessary for your survival. It's like when things are still sorta functioning they're like screw balance we don't need that shit. We just need to prove that we can hustle and grind forever. And then when problems start And then they grow bigger and bigger, then suddenly balance becomes really, really cool. And you're like, well, the cool people know how to balance their work, life, rest, recovery, hustle, grind, and all that stuff. So it's one of those things like you don't value it till you truly need it. But I think that we should value balance before we need it. Like, yeah. Yeah, thanks. Pete "mental health champ": I think it's fantastic point right there. Fantastic point right there. I want everybody to listen to what she just said because that is a fantastic point though, because you don't realize it until you need it. And then now when you want the balance, it's like, no, you can't have that now 'cause it's so crazy, you know, with I I experienced the same thing though. Think about it. Like I do the show and then I do go doing these Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": interviews. But I love doing the interviews. It's not like it doesn't feel like work. It's a great hobby. I love doing it, have a great conversation. I to meet really cool people like yourselves and everybody else that's been on the show, you know, and the countless other people, you know. And I was I was telling some of my coworkers what I do in my free time, and they're just all like so fascinated. So it's interesting to hear people, you know, that are so interested in what I'm doing. So one guy he's been like telling me all day yesterday, he was like, Hey Pete, I'm checking out your podcast right now, man. Here, look, I'm right about to listen to you. So he's so excited to tell me. So I I love it though. I think it's great. So, like, l let me ask you this though. What got you started in all this? Like, you're you're covering a lot of spaces here. Let's be honest. Okay. So look, let's cover a few things. You have somatic practitioner. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": you also have awards from the you have a bachelor's in music, you have Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": you also have one for the you have you have a degree in arts. You also have the the you're a certified personal trainer. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": Your s your national strength and conditioning is so girl, you have more Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": things listed on here. It's just it's just crazy, but it's it's so cool to meet somebody who's doing stuff. You're even accredited by the American Psychology Association. like the list goes on. Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, well I Pete "mental health champ": Did you Lilia Bogoeva: Well what I do is just Pete "mental health champ": No, go ahead. Sorry, I'm gonna cut you off there. Lilia Bogoeva: yeah, nipa, what I do is just think about the reason for all the things. So like I used to do a lot more personal training for clients, Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: but in more recent years say after the pandemic I got really busy with my band Carcasa and our music coaching. So I also coach in vocal training, guitar, piano, songwriting, and teaching people how to kick start their career in music. So I started focusing more on the Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: artistic side, but I do still maintain the fitness credentials. Mainly with the focus of strength and conditioning for sports. That's because I always like to keep my foot in the door there, you know. I do some CrossFit competitions and powerlifting competitions to keep myself sharp and motivated. I use a lot of that knowledge to help myself stay well conditioned for my sword spinning performances because it's something very unique that it does to your body. Like dancing while spinning a sword and leaping through the air, doing acrobatic tricks. It's something very different. So I keep myself sharp and well educated for that. Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: And so somatic healing for the people who don't already know what that is, somatic refers to the connection between your mind and body. So, a somatic practitioner is a person who knows how to use your body to heal your mind. So, that's things like let's say you have anxiety strategically using deep breathing, movement, massaging, physical activities, Pete "mental health champ": Uh-huh. Lilia Bogoeva: and that can look different for every person. Like for me personally, I require some very big movements to truly relieve my anxiety. So for that, the heavy lifting, Olympic style weightlifting, sprinting, and then learning big tricks to do with my sword spinning, all of that helps as I'm venting things out. Also for me, if I'm experiencing a lot of anxiety or symptoms of depression, which for me those symptoms come and go throughout my life. I need to get myself very deeply immersed in something complicated and meaningful at the same time, like writing a song where I play guitar and sing simultaneously, that kind of strategic multitasking. I'm doing two different things, I'm playing guitar and singing, Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: but they blend together. So my brain requires a lot of stimulation, whereas not everyone is like that. For some people, when they're experiencing anxiety, they respond best to deep breathing. And more gentle movement. Like tapping, tapping is a big one that a lot of somatic practitioners use to bring yourself to mind-body Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Yep. Lilia Bogoeva: awareness. For me, my threshold is a little or quite a bit higher than that. I require bigger physical gestures. To really relieve my anxiety and depression symptoms. But yeah, that just goes to show you that every person is different. Every person is an individual. And whatever you respond to, it's not necessarily better or worse than someone else who responds differently. You just gotta know yourself and do what works for you. So you know, for me, exploring the mind-body connection is really important to that. Pete "mental health champ": Listen, I I do want to highlight a few things you said. You said that it's it's different for everybody, which I think a lot of people need to understand Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": is that, you know, what works for one doesn't work for all, which I think is really Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": great where you came out with that right away and just said, Hey, listen, this is how it works for me. May not work but you know, everything's different for everybody, because that's really a good reminder for people that a lot just because you're doing it, don't expect the same things to work for you that works for someone else. Now they Lilia Bogoeva: yeah. Pete "mental health champ": might, but don't go in with those expectations of like, hey, you know, It's gonna be the same thing. It's not like like you just said, it's gonna be different for everybody. And that I think that was really great when you brought that point up right away because I think a lot of people tend to go into these things thinking they're gonna get the same results because somebody else told them, and no, listen, you gotta go in this for yourself. You gotta understand that your results are different for you versus someone else. What works for you may not work for other people, you know. And I'm saying, the concept though is what you're really going in for is what it's what exactly it's all about, you know, using the different techniques like you're stating, breathing work, you know. I use meditation myself and and things like that in the mornings I talked to my inner child and it's it's helped dramatically, you know. Like I was traumatized as a kid and you know, getting through that, like I never thought I was gonna get through it, but then I started learning these new techniques from people. You know, breathing work was one of them, breath work is really big one of them. When I when I feel like I'm gonna have an anxiety attack ever, that was a real great one to bring you back down because it refocuses you and all you're using is your own body to do it. So, you know, I I think it's really cool when you meet people that are doing All these other things, but you're not asking them to do much more than just use their own body to fix the problems, you know, or help them with different techniques. Tapping was another one too. I met a woman that that's what she was doing. She's really big into tapping. When I learned that early on in the show, early on in the show, I thought it was interesting. Well, because it's like, I've never seen this before. Let's try it, see what it is. And then when you I get to go tell other people, I'm like, hey, listen, you gotta go check this out. There's something new I learned, you know. So anything you guys are teaching me, I'm literally taking it out into the world with me. And people I run into and different people, random people on me too. Like a lot of t I do a lot of socializing online with other people. So like I'll tell them about it, like, yo, hey, have you tried this before? This is something I just learned about. Maybe you should check it out and see what you think. So, you know, I hats off, like, for you to keep juggling all that stuff, but Lilia Bogoeva: That's very isso. Pete "mental health champ": at the same time, you're making it a purpose though. Like you said, you're like, I Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": gotta keep myself busy or else, you know. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. For me personally what I also do is distinguish which things I'm doing visibly for my clients and audience, whereas which things are more for me and underlying. So you know when I was younger in my twenties, I had personal training for a client. So I was a lot more visible and at the forefront. Later on as I approached Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: my 30s, I got more deeply involved with my music and comic art. So then I started using physical fitness more as an underlying principle. So to this day I still will Yeah, obviously I need to stay well conditioned for my performances, both in the sword spinning and with the band as well, and just kind of balancing Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: like if I have a Carcasa show coming up, I shouldn't go too heavy on the sword spinning the day before 'cause I'll make my wrists too sore. And so, you know, things like that and and you know just knowing what to do when, like this year, twenty twenty six, I'm so focused on the new Carcasa Metal album that I'll wait till next year to do my next inner demon crusher comics that way things aren't totally crazy hectic. Pete "mental health champ": Listen, when you make the next comic, when you make that next comic, you let me know when it's ready 'cause you're coming right back here. We're gonna talk about it again. 'Cause I'd I'd love to have you come back and talk to me about it for sure. Yeah, listen, you got a spot here on Lilia Bogoeva: Hell yeah. good to know. That'd be great. Pete "mental health champ": the show for sure. Lilia Bogoeva: that'd be great. Yes, I do plan on my next one being a Renaissance fantasy themed comic with dragons and swords. Pete "mental health champ": Okay. Lilia Bogoeva: because you know I been performing at so many Renaissance fairs lately Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: that I really want to make a story that goes directly in line with that. Because this one, the first installment of Inner Demon Crusher, it shows me on the cover with my guitars, obviously showing the power of heavy metal music and that fits perfectly Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: with my Carcasa shows. So then I'll make another comic to fit perfectly with my other types of shows, which is the Renaissance Fair. But again all with the Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: same overarching purpose. Pete "mental health champ": I think it's really cool though, because you could put her in different categories of different situations. Like you you have the you know the rock band and you Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": have the the the Renaissance fair and then whatever different challenges you come into, you know, or go more crop like like superhero villain type thing for other people as well, you know. But keep going with the Renaissance thing too, because it'd be kind of cool. Put them in different situations that you would run into, you know, in things like I'm looking forward to it. I'd be honest, yeah. I love it. I think it's a great idea. Like I said, you you already have a Lilia Bogoeva: That's great. Pete "mental health champ": place here. As soon as you figure out the next thing. The metal thing was really cool too. Like like music. It it's funny you say music though, because music, me and another guest we had, we spent an hour talking about just music in general, like how it's soothing to people, you know, mental health reasons why. I have a few other people that I've been in contact with have been on the show. One of she's an award winning lyricist. And the other one, she makes her albums are strictly about mental health and things like that too. So You know, and I've I've had other artists come on. It's really cool when you get artists on to pick their brains about things. So there'll be a question coming up here pretty soon that you're gonna love though. It's music related, though, I'll tell you that much. So it will be fun Lilia Bogoeva: Mm-hmm. Pete "mental health champ": though. But that's so cool to hear like you're writing another album, though. That that's that's a Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": that's an achievement a lot of people don't even do though, man. You've got three already, you're making a fourth one now. Like, like you're doing it all, man. You're kicking ass out there. You're you're kicking ass. Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, number four. thanks, dude. That means a lot. 'Cause again, there are no guarantees when you start a new project. So I think that anytime there's a new project you get this anxiety about it. And I myself have struggled Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: with a lot of anxiety surrounding our four studio album because we're also playing a lot of shows lately in the middle of that. So we don't have that kind of schedule where we just drop everything and only record the album. We're actually recording the album a few days a week and then going off on the weekends to do our touring show. So we go all over. It's not just in our home state of Alabama. We've had shows recently in Tampa, Florida, up to Louisville, Kentucky. And yeah. Yeah, other states Pete "mental health champ": Well look at you go. You look at you do it you sit in other states. Look at you go, it's so cool. Lilia Bogoeva: actually On September 11th and 12th, Carcasa will be in the Gulf Coast. We have a show in Gulfport, Pete "mental health champ": Okay. Lilia Bogoeva: Mississippi, and then another show in New Orleans, Louisiana. And we'll probably be done with the recording part of our album by then. And then the album should come out in the fall of this year. It's what we're planning on. So yeah, there's a lot of stuff kind of intersecting each other. So it can be hard to stay calm and grounded through all that. Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: Because yeah, for myself as a person who's had my own issues with complex trauma that then triggers anxiety and depression, even eating disorders. I've struggled with those, I struggled with substance use disorders too. So being able to tackle all these things and make sure that it stays helpful for me instead of becoming another inner demon like that can be challenging. So what I need to do is always keep my healthy why at the forefront Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: of all of that. I have this motto that I started saying it in Carcasa shows. I said, bring the fun or there's no point. So I keep telling myself that like bring the Pete "mental health champ": Love it. Love it. Lilia Bogoeva: fun or there's no point. Even when it doesn't feel fun, I can find something good about it to keep me going. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah, well think about it though. You're you're doing all this stuff, you're traveling, seeing different areas, going to do going to New Orleans New Orleans is gonna be really cool in general if you've never been there. It's it's a very Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, I'm excited. Pete "mental health champ": interesting city. You know, and and you're doing everything. You guys are c recording the album, you're you're talking about another book already, and talking about going a different route, you're doing the shows, like, you know, but you never even know. Like, you know, do you have any advice for anybody out there that may experience with some of these things? I mean, because you're you're crushing it out there. Like we may not see you struggling Lilia Bogoeva: thanks. Pete "mental health champ": inside. We know you're telling us about it now, but you Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": know, like you're you're you're doing so many things. It's so cool though, man. Like and sky's the limits. Like it's like what are you doing next? Is what we all want to know. You know what I'm saying? Like well, people come racing to your page soon enough to start watching. Okay, where's she at now? What's she doing? Because you've got so many different things you're doing, but it's it's really cool though. Lilia Bogoeva: thanks. Thank you. Well yeah, my advice for someone else who's struggling with the anxiety of juggling multiple responsibilities would be For one thing, bring the fun, or there's no point. Even things that are drooling and painstaking, you can think about what's gonna happen at the end. Like when we're in the recording studio, it can be frustrating. Like, this is not fun right now. Sometimes when we're driving on the road and it's been a while and we're getting tired, and like this isn't fun, but we look forward to what's coming. So look ahead what you can see. How you can calm yourself down in the moment. So I love somatic, Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: that's mind-body connection techniques for that. Simple things like deep breathing and tapping on your body. So stretching, like for me personally, I am very prone to carrying tension in my body. So doing physical stretches helps to calm my brain down as well. Stretch and massage. Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: Lately I've also been leaning a lot more into my therapy dog work with my own dog, FOFO, because I also train dogs especially for therapeutic work. So I do something called deep pressure therapy, which is a skill for psychiatric service dogs and therapy dogs. It's when the dog just lays on your chest, and that absolutely works wonders for me to keep me calm. So If you have a dog, Pete "mental health champ": That's really cool. Lilia Bogoeva: you know, consider doing some grounding with your dog. Let them lean on you. Le focus on your pet and engage with them. And even if you don't have a dog, actually compress them to work. Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah, you know, because because your pet's a little more Well, I was gonna say your pet your pet is very emotionally intelligent as well. They can sense a lot of stuff on you. Lilia Bogoeva: Nah, they are Pete "mental health champ": Like my dog, when I was with my ex wife, she'd always tell like I'm by diabetic, so she could tell if my sugar was high, she'd come over and start Lilia Bogoeva: yeah. Pete "mental health champ": bothering me. You know, things like she could sense things that other people couldn't. And you know, and no matter what anybody Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, that's precisely. Pete "mental health champ": says, they could pick up on that a hundred percent. It's really cool, actually. Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, it definitely is. And something really useful to do when you have a dog is actually train them specifically for that. So Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: something that Therapy and psychiatric service dogs do is actually alert you when your anxiety is getting too high, and then do a behavior to help calm them down. So that's what I do with my dog. I trained her to when I'm showing anxiety, I do heavy breathing and put a lot of tension in my body. So she detects that, she does this a paw at my leg to alert me. Then we do the deep pressure therapy, that's when she gets on my chest, and the combination Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: of warmth. And softness from a dog is just so soothing and it takes your mind off of other things. You're like, life is shitty. I feel like shit. But then you just can't feel shitty with this adorable creature laying on you and staring directly into her eyes. I guess it's so comforting. So even if you don't have a dog, actually the idea of compression. Can be done with other things, like there were things like weighted blankets or heavy stuffed animals. Be creative, Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: combine something like a lightweight, like kind of like a medium, maybe like a ten pound weight with a blanket on yourself. Compression and softness go a long way into helping calm down your nervous system if you are feeling that anxiety, which everyone feels anxiety sometimes, even if you don't have a quote anxiety disorder as a diagnosis to yourself. Yeah, we all Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: need stress relief and there are very simple resources around us that can help. So something soft, fluffy, warm and weighted, even if you don't have a dog, that can help a lot too. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. So Lillian, we're at that part of the interview where I told you I have a question. I have to ask two questions to my guests before we wrap this thing up. The first one is actually a pretty fun one. Like I said, this is a music related one. You're gonna love this, okay? So if your mental health had a song, what would you say that song would be? Lilia Bogoeva: so I wrote this song called Reset for Carcasa, which is a song about the battle against an inner demon. It's like the grip of death chokeholds. You made me dread my own breath. And then says, But if I know what you are, I see the fights to win. So I actually wrote a song about just that. But besides songs that I wrote, let me think. So it was a song that's specifically about Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: mental health. Well You know, one thing that's coming to mind is actually a maybe a lesser known song, but there's this silver chair song called Anna's song, which is about experiencing anorexia nervosa, which is it's very unique. Pete "mental health champ": G great song. Great song. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, not many songs are about that specifically. You know, that's something I struggled with when I was younger. And although I don't have an active eating disorder right now, the symptoms and thought patterns creep in when I am at my peak stress. So I thought it was really Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: cool that they wrote a song about something that you don't hear many songs about and it's very direct. So I appreciated that too. Pete "mental health champ": Yeah, that's listen, fantastic song. Silver Chair in the 300 plus Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": episodes done is the first time Silver Chair is mentioned. But that's a great song though. I loved Silver Chair. They were great. I think they were ahead of their time Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Thanks, dude. Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": a little bit. But I mean that's a lot of some people are like that all the time, though. But it was an amaz they were great though. I love that song. That was a great song. the year the anthem, the year 2000 was a great one too, you know. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": tomorrow was always a classic one for me, because I got the the early gallings. Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, it's more soccer. Pete "mental health champ": My brother when I was younger. He had a massive CD collection back when CDs were a thing. I've listened to those some of the stuff he had, and that's one of them that he had listened to all the time. And I'd listen to that whole album. Frog Stomp was my favorite album by them too, you know, and things like that too. But you know, I I think that's really great, though. That's a great answer, honestly. So Lilia Bogoeva: Thanks, Did. Pete "mental health champ": when we we're going into the last question, okay. And the final question for you today is that if you could break the stigma about mental health, now what I'm asking to you is there's something that you hear people say all the time. That you just want people to stop believing. What would you say that one thing is? Lilia Bogoeva: Okay, something that comes to mind right now is the idea that Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: going to therapy for your mental health means that your mental health problems are either Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: worse or you don't have the inner strength to handle them on your own. That's completely wrong. Because the thing is, it's true that some people go to therapy and it does not help them. And some people Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: go to therapy and it does. Whereas some people feel more helped by other things like activities. For myself, it's a balance of all of that stuff. Some direct talk therapy, some creative outlets, physical outlets, animal outlets, socialization. For me, it's the whole package, some of everything. But the thing is that when people say that therapy doesn't help them, it could be one of two things. Either A, they had a therapist who was not a good fit for them, just like, you know, everything ain't for everybody, you know. Or I have actually seen people for him, their mental health issues actually don't respond best. to therapy, they respond better to other Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: things. I have this friend who has borderline personality disorder and you know he Pete "mental health champ": Okay, okay. Lilia Bogoeva: struggles a lot to specifically name and talk about his feelings so when he goes to therapy it would tend to be a lot of just small talk with the therapist like dinner party conversation and not be all Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: that useful so his mental health challenges responded a lot more to environmental management and social understanding from the people around him instead of the talk therapy. But that being said, I'm sure that if he really invested time and effort into figuring out how to make talk therapy work better for him, that that either cognitive behavioral or dialectical behavioral therapy could work wonders and be that Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: extra thing. that really helps him get to where he wants to go. But still there are some mental health conditions just work better with one avenue or another. Pete "mental health champ": I love it. I love it. Lilia Bogoeva: And that's totally fine. It doesn't yeah, it doesn't mean that if someone like say two people have the same thing, like let's say they both have major depression. One of them goes to therapy, the other doesn't. Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: It could be that for one person they found the therapist was the right fit and their problem works very well with therapy. The other person, they could be Pete "mental health champ": Loving. Lilia Bogoeva: a person who doesn't really express themselves so clearly with words, and they work better with other outlets, but it doesn't mean that one person had a worse problem than The other, or that one person is just mentally stronger than the other. They're just two different Pete "mental health champ": Yeah. Lilia Bogoeva: people who benefit from two different things. Pete "mental health champ": Yep. I I couldn't say it any better myself. Thank you so Lilia Bogoeva: Thanks. Pete "mental health champ": much for coming out. That statement alone, girl, that's it. We should be just throwing the mic and be we're done, already. Because that's such Lilia Bogoeva: Yeah, thanks. Yeah. Pete "mental health champ": that's a powerful statement, what you said. You know, it makes perfect sense. You know, everything you're saying. So I want to again want to thank you so much for coming. Hang out. I'm so glad we got to sit down and do this. before we wrap up, do you want to let everybody know where they can go? Check out the book. Anything else, you know, laid on and I'll make sure we definitely will have these in the in the info for you guys to go ahead and reach out if you guys need to reach out, want to check out the comic book, all that stuff. We'll let know where they can find you. Lilia Bogoeva: Yes, so my comic book specifically, search Lilia the Inner Demon Crusher on Amazon. And we'll put a link below in the description for that. But yes, Lilia the Inner Demon Crusher from Amazon, that's the best place to get it, because you could get a physical Pete "mental health champ": Mm-hmm. Lilia Bogoeva: copy directly to you. But if you prefer digital copies, I also have them. On my website, there's a link to an online store where you can get a PDF version, and that's on lilia demoncrusher.com. And the best place to keep up with what I'm doing is on my blog. So I have a blog through Substack, and it's going to be Substack.com slash. Let me make sure that I'm saying this correctly. Substack.com. Should be slash inner demon crusher, but I just want to make totally sure that that is it. slash at inner demon crusher sorry but yes it us I'm sure that if you I'm sure if you yeah just link in but yes Pete "mental health champ": Okay. No, no problem. Listen, like I said, we'll have it in the bio for sure for them. Don't worry. We'll definitely make sure they get to see it there. We got ya. Lilia Bogoeva: yeah these days you have to add the at so substack.com slash at inner demon crusher but yes just search for the link in bio because the inner demon crusher Pete "mental health champ": Definitely guys. Lilia Bogoeva: substack is my blog where I go into the most detail about what I'm up to And you know, I am on Facebook and YouTube as Lilia the Inner Demon Crusher. On TikTok, you can't have as many letters, so I'm just Lilia Demon Crusher. On Instagram as well, I'm just Lilia Bogoiva. Pete "mental health champ": Awesome. Thank you so much again. Guys, like I said, I will make sure we have all those links in the bottle for you. Everything she's listed will be here for you guys that are listening at home, wherever you're checking this episode out. But guys, with that being said, we're gonna wrap up this episode of Pete for Sanxiety. You guys don't find me at Pete for Sanxiety, I'm on Spotify all the way down to Pandora Radio. And if you're in the Pennsylvania area, we are on the Pep Radio Network as well, guys. I'm on TikTok, Spotify, I'm TikTok, YouTube, all those places you can find me. Facebook. Instagram, guys, I'm everywhere you can be found. There's no reason you shouldn't be following me, guys. And as always say, it costs nothing absolutely to be kind to somebody. One kind act you could do could save some life or hell you can make their day. I'm Pete for this anxiety sign-off saying, don't ask how your day is today. Say, hey, how's your mental health?