Latest / Pete Vs Anxiety!!!!! / Curiosity over Fear

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Curiosity over Fear · Pete Vs Anxiety!!!!!

• Pete: Ever wish you had someone to talk to anytime, anywhere, matter what you're going through? Meet PsychPAL, your 24-7 AI companion, designed to help you process your thoughts, calm your mind, and keep you moving forward. Chat anytime during a panic attack on a restless night or just when you need to vent. Prefer talking instead of typing? Try voice journaling. PsychPAL listens, transcribes, and truly understands. You can even upload screenshots of tough conversations, and it'll help you unpack how they made you feel. PsychPAL keeps life organized, too. It can add appointments to your calendar, track your mood, and even summarize your sessions for your therapist so you'll never lose progress. Plus, built-in crisis resources are always just one click away. It's a privacy-first, constantly evolving, made to complement your professional care, not replace it. Ready to try it out? 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 another exciting episode of Pete First Anxiety. Before we get started today, I wanna give a shout out to my partners over at PsychPAL, guys. There's a link in the description if you guys wanna check them out. Go get a seven day free trial. After that, if you like what you see, it was nice enough, I hammered them home and they said, you know what Pete, we're gonna give you 20 % off. Use my code Pete at checkout. That's right guys, 20 % off your first month of PsychPAL. I know I'm a great guy anyways. With that being said, let me introduce my guest today. She is the host of the Magic Medicine Mayhem podcast. The one, the only Sylvia Florence is here. Sylvia, how are you doing today? Sylva Florence: I'm doing well, I'm doing well, great to be here. Pete "mental Health Champ": Sylvia is also an ex-Wyland firefighter and wilderness ranger. Girl, let me tell you what, that is amazing, okay? She's also a shamanic practitioner and a writer. Girl, that's a lot of titles there, so why don't you tell everybody a little more about yourself? Sylva Florence: Well, you know, I know it has a lot of titles, but I've always tended to follow my curiosity and like the beat of my own wacky drum. And so I tried on a lot of things and that has kind of contributed to the person I am today. Cause I never ever pass up an adventure. So. Pete "mental Health Champ": yeah, clearly we can tell from Ireland firefighter to wilderness ranger to where you're at now writer podcast host girl. You're doing it all it's great. you know what what changed? Why don't you just curiosity just let you just discover these things are like hey listen you know I just want to go check this out now because shamanic practitioner is the most interesting thing on this list right now to me. Sylva Florence: Thanks. Thanks. So are you curious like how I got into it or? Pete "mental Health Champ": So yeah, exactly. Yeah, sorry. That was probably should have been my follow up question. So how did you? Sylva Florence: It's all good, I'll fill in the blanks. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah, but it's so interesting that that's something you got into. Is it something you discovered and you're like, hey, listen, I'm going to go explore this a little bit? Because I mean, that's not when you really hear come up much. Sylva Florence: Well, you know, I've always been somebody who's very connected to nature. I grew up in a family where my parents took us camping and hiking and fishing and hunting and everything. So we were very much an outdoorsy family. So to me, being in nature or growing up with nature was a very natural thing. And so at a certain point, like my, I have a really interesting family unit. Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Sylva Florence: in the sense that my father is a Presbyterian who goes to church like every week. My mother is an atheist, my brother is agnostic. And then there's me, some kind of this like spiritual something. Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Sylva Florence: And organized religion, at least for me, didn't ever really make too much sense. Like it's totally fine, like for whomever, you know, it works for and that kind of thing. But I always felt kind of like nature was my church. Like going outside, like seeing the like wonder around me and the cooperation between everything out in nature was always really magical. And so when I discovered shamanism, which is basically Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. Sylva Florence: I mean, it's a spirituality, but it's also a way of looking at the world. It just kind of felt like something clicked. Like, yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah, yeah, no, I get that completely. That makes sense though. I mean, because you said nature was a big thing and shamans usually are more natural Eastern medicine types versus the Western medicine a lot of people know now. Sylva Florence: Yeah, actually, shamanism is like one of the oldest forms of spirituality, I guess you could call it. You can find it in cultures in the entire world. mean, Native Americans are also very shamanic based, or, you know, share a lot of qualities of shamanic societies. And so Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, because Native Americans had multiple different gods they prayed to and things like that that were nature related. know, same thing with the Greeks and things too, you know, they had multiple different gods for each one that represented certain things. So, you mean, it was some kind of belief system was there in some place, however you want. That's the way I look at it. It's like whatever belief system you go with that works for you, know, hey, listen, at the end of the day, it's all the same thing, really. You know what mean? You have to look at it from a different dynamic than they do, basically. So. Sylva Florence: love them. Pete "mental Health Champ": You know, which is interesting, though, because, like I said, you don't see a lot of people that comes up as a conversational piece. You know, so what got your interest in that, though, was it just the fact that nature was a big thing for you anyways? Obviously. Sylva Florence: I like the way that shamanism frames the way that we walk through the world. So it doesn't put humans at the top of the list like we know best. It puts us at the table with everyone else. And so... Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. More like an equal kind of like everybody on the same equal space kind of thing. OK. Sylva Florence: Exactly. Yeah, like picture us, instead of like, you know, being the top of the totem pole, we're like all around a table together. And so to me, it's like a way of, you know, I feel like we talk a lot about how our society is kind of going to hell in a handbasket these days and stuff, know, separation. Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Yep, yep, depends who you're asking. Yes, that's a good, very good point there, but yes, okay. Sylva Florence: Yeah, know, separation, we're always more and more divided, that kind of thing. But when you look at the world through a shamanic perspective, everything is very connected. It's a web. And it's not just humans, it's every living creature. And so to me, it's kind of like a way to get back into what Native Americans call right relationship with the rest of the world. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. care. Sylva Florence: and to fall in love with the world again because when you love something you tend to protect it. know? So to me it's a really cool way of being and of like looking at the world. Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Yeah, makes sense. Yeah. So, so I mean, I it makes sense to think about it because you're putting everybody on the equal same place or respecting each other space like you would humans should be respecting each other. But, you know, we forgot that part, too, apparently somewhere down the road, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, the Internet was introduced and the world went to hell in a handbask, as we like to say, because, you know, all this information at our fingertips and we can only handle so much. And it's just it's just wild. You know, in and to me, it's just it gets it gets crazy. So. Sylva Florence: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, we suck. We kind of suck at this point, but... Yeah. Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": Take us into writer. what are some of the works have you written? Sylva Florence: Well, I studied journalism, studied print journalism. And so, yeah, I've been writing my entire life. Like even before that, I have boxes and boxes. Pete "mental Health Champ": okay, okay. like doing blogs and things like that and different things, you know. Sylva Florence: I have written blogs, articles for newspapers and magazines, literary works. I'm working on publishing a book right now, actually. That's my big project. A book that I've Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": that's cool. Okay. So let's get into what the book's about. What's the book about? What's it called? What can you tell us? Sylva Florence: So the working title is A Map Made of Wind. And the subtitle is A Cyclist's Guide to a Wild and Authentic Life, because it's basically a true story of a bicycle tour that I took across the United States of America by myself before I moved to Italy. Yeah, so it's the story of that journey. Pete "mental Health Champ": Okay. That's really cool. So what was it like biking across the United States? It had to be interesting. You what was your starting point? What was your end point? You know, give everybody a little idea of where we're going from, where to where. Cause now you're in Italy and that's really cool too, honestly. I'd love to be there. The architecture alone, just the sights, the sounds. last guest that we just had on a minute ago, she coming and I came in from Spain. was like, damn, y'all are making me jealous now. I want to go to Spain. That'd be great. You know I'm saying? Sylva Florence: Sweet. Pete "mental Health Champ": You bike across the United States. What made you want to do that in the first place? We've had another individual from Canada, he biked across Canada and he battled cancer along the way. So what was your reasoning for that? Sylva Florence: Well, I am also an avid cyclist. So I have been a cyclist now for like 25 years or something. I love to travel and I love to cycle. And so when I discovered that bike touring was a thing that was like, I'm going to be doing this for a while. Yeah. So I started cycle touring in like 2009. And I, in 2018 is when I rode across the United States. started in Berkeley, California and I rode to St. Augustine, Florida. Pete "mental Health Champ": Okay. yeah, definitely, okay. Sylva Florence: And I had just broken up with my now ex-husband. I was like a huge mess. And so I was like, hmm, what could I do? I'll ride across the United States of America. Pete "mental Health Champ": That sounds like a you what, my life's going to hell. You know what I'm to do? I'm going to torture him by biking myself across the country. Like that'd be so cool though. I the sights, the sounds, the things you saw, you know, that's really cool though. How did you decide the route though? Like, was it just like, I'm just going to go for it? Or did you, you really had to plan that out, huh? Sylva Florence: So this was definitely not my first cycle tour. I had cycled by then in Mexico, in Asia, all over Europe, a lot of different parts of the United States. So yeah, it had a lot of bike touring experience under my belt. Going down from Berkeley to San Diego, I kind of just, or followed the coast, or... Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. nice. Mm-hmm. Sylva Florence: asked locals for advice, picked my way down. And then once I got to San Diego, I had maps to follow from the American Cycling Association. I did what's called the Southern Tour route. The Southern Tour route, sorry. Pete "mental Health Champ": that's really cool. Okay. okay. That's so cool though. So what kind of things did you experience along the way? did you get into some storms or something along the way? Because depending on what path you took, it had to be some fun times out there. Sylva Florence: what didn't I run into really is probably the better question. I started in October and I finished in February because it's so far south that you can do it over the winter even. So in California I had heat waves and like Santa Ana wind, which is like this super hot wind even at night. And then as I went further south and east, had Pete "mental Health Champ": Whoops. okay. Mm-hmm. Sylva Florence: wind, had rain, had a freak snowstorm in Louisiana, which was really interesting. That was a trip. Pete "mental Health Champ": bet that was yeah trying to riding your bike in the winter. Yeah, that's that's yeah. No, I'm good. I I'm from the north. I'm from the Midwest. live in Texas now and these people down here worry about snow. I'm like you always see snow. Yeah, you want to go take a trouble north with me. Let me tell you I'll show you what snow is like. You ain't seen nothing yet. These guys freak out about the smallest thing three inches ice and they're freaking out. I'm like you think that's it. You should be up there for the blizzards man. I've been through a couple of blizzards. I've been to hurricanes. I've been through it all like these these guys like. Sylva Florence: sweet. Pete "mental Health Champ": They think see snow and that their world panics like I'm like y'all have no idea what you're even dealing with do you and it's funny to watch them too. Oh yeah yeah that's another statement not being prepared these guys clear their shells off for a two day snowstorm they're like clearing everything I'm like I guys think we're gonna be okay we're not gonna get snowed in for like two months this isn't Alaska you know we're okay I think we'll be all right that they just and the weirdest thing is too they by the way like they buy a lot of toilet paper like what are y'all doing that you need that much toilet paper it's like Sylva Florence: They're just not prepared. Yeah, yeah, that. Pete "mental Health Champ": You know, during the whole crisis when there was a shortage, was like they were like selling it on on Facebook marketplace and obscene amounts. I was like, what is wrong with you all? Like, what the hell is going on? Sylva Florence: Yeah, things got a little weird. Things got a little weird. Like, toilet paper, that's the one we're gonna go crazy about. Like, it's toilet paper. Pete "mental Health Champ": Right. Exactly. Is that's what I'm saying? Like, exactly. Like they just out there buying everything off the shelves. Like it's like, there's going to be a snowstorm and these guys here sort of panicking. I'm like, oh, it's going to be really bad. It's like, but it's never really as bad as they say it is. I think only one time we had a really bad snowstorm here where they just start freaking out and I was just, I'm out there cruising through the snow. I'm like, this ain't nothing to me, man. We got like six inches of snow out there. I'm cruising down the streets. Like everything shut down. I'm the only person there. So I did this series on Tik Tok where I was like, your residential Chicago in, in Texas. And I'm like, these guys are freezing to death out here. It's like 30 degrees and a little below. They're all out there like in these heavy jackets on like 40 degrees. These guys are freaking out. I'm just like I'm walking around in shorts and I look like the weirdo. I'm like, what do mean? This ain't cold. I'm like, oh, I'm like, let's go up north for a bit. Let's go to negative zero. OK, I've been in Denver for a bit. Negative 30 is the lowest ever been. And let me tell you, once you experience that, nothing else is that cold for you. You know, it's just funny to watch them, though. But that's, you know, but that's so cool, though, that you went across the United States and you were cycling, man. Sylva Florence: Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": That had to be such an achievement by the time you finished it though. Sylva Florence: Thanks, yeah, it was for sure. You know, it was like... Pete "mental Health Champ": You're like, you're like, hey, ex-husband, I made it. Screw you. Okay, I got here. Sylva Florence: By myself. Ha, take that. Yeah, was like 4,500 miles or something that I did. I can't remember exactly now, but. Pete "mental Health Champ": Alright, she's like, yeah, take that guy. Hmm. Jesus. Wow. Did you plan it like night and day for the certain areas that you were going through? Because sometimes, man, this heat out here is horrible. Sylva Florence: Well, I kind of went, I don't know, it depended on the day and the terrain and the weather and like a million things, but I had a tent with me, I had a water filter and a stove and everything. you know, if, if, can I cuss on here? If shit got real, you know, then I could just find spot and, and camp. I always had like, resume. Oh, I thought I was going to sneeze. Nope. Not this time. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. Yeah, good. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So let's get into my favorite part of this whole conversation, podcast. How did you come up with your podcast? What was the idea and what was that one moment you were like, you know what, I want to start a podcast because it's always interesting to hear what people's reasons for starting their show was. Sylva Florence: Thank you. I mean, I never really imagined that I would have a podcast, but I broke my hip actually on a bike ride. Surprise, surprise. And like in January of 2022 or 2021, it's all a blur, but anyways, I couldn't go outside. I couldn't ride my bike. couldn't do all these things that I would normally do. so... Pete "mental Health Champ": Hmm? Sylva Florence: I got really depressed and was like losing my mind because I didn't have surgery thankfully, but I did have to just be still and like let myself heal for many months. And so after I climbed out of the pit of despair and boredom, I was like, okay, so I have all this time. How can I use it? Like, what can I do with it? And I was like, Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. Yeah, podcasting is an interesting thing to pick though. mean, like, like, let's look at the forefront of this thing. Like a lot of people like want to start a podcast, but nobody knows how to start. Where did you start though? I mean, because a lot of people ask me all the time, Pete, how did you start your podcast? And then I give them all the information and they look at me like I've gone and lost my mind someplace. Sylva Florence: Yeah. I mean, I just, you know, I had all this time on my hands. I'm a trained journalist. I'm super curious. You know, I love to interview people. love to listen to people to get their stories just to do things like that. So I thought, why not? Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. yeah. Sylva Florence: learn how to start a podcast. And I just started devouring all sorts of articles and stuff like that. Like I, if I put my mind to something, it happens. you know, I was very determined and I just. Pete "mental Health Champ": Did you listen to other shows too? Were you listening to any certain ones? Because when I started mine, I was listening to lot of different ones. And I already enjoyed doing podcasts and I kept always telling people, I'm going to start a podcast one day. And somebody was telling me, hey, listen, you can. So I started one like that. I had one prior to Pete First Excited I did with a friend. We were messing around with it for a little bit. But I digested a lot of podcasts because I was like, you know what? How am I going to go about this thing? Because you know, Sylva Florence: See you. Pete "mental Health Champ": A lot of people like to say the market's flooded with them, but I'm like, not everybody's you though. Like you all have your own individual voice. So how's it flooded then if that robot copies you. Sylva Florence: Two. Two. I mean, I've always liked listening to podcasts. Like I've always listened to like this American life, Ted talks, how stuff works, the BBC for my news sometimes, know, various things. And I did listen to them while I was creating it to see how they timed things, to see how they, how things sounded. Pete "mental Health Champ": Hmm. Yeah. Sylva Florence: to get inspiration for the introduction and stuff like that. But yeah, I just figured it out step by step, just kind of muddled through it until I figured everything out. Pete "mental Health Champ": So was Magic Medicine and Mayhem, was that the original name for it or did you have like several different changes as you went through it? Sylva Florence: It was actually called Live From Suckville at the beginning. Yeah, because I was in Suckville. And the idea behind the podcast was that I was going to interview people, other people who had been through something difficult and get their stories, like people who wanted to talk about it and they had wisdom to share. And so I just started like... Pete "mental Health Champ": life in Succville. Yeah. Sylva Florence: with friends and friends of friends, just like trying to find people who were like ordinary people, had like an extraordinary story. And everyone really actually does, just not everybody wants to talk about it. So it was really interesting. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah, yeah. Yeah, especially the space I'm in. It's like that too. you know, when I started mine though, I just put a post out. was like, you know, fuck, I'm just going to go for it. Cause not a lot people want to talk about their mental health. You know, that exactly to your point right there. How many people want to talk about what problems they have, you know? And when I put it out, I had such a response, like I thought my phone was going to explode because people are just blowing this thing up. And it was just an idea before I even started this thing. I had no plan. I didn't do it. I did a little research beforehand. I kind of listened to other things and Sylva Florence: Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": You know, my thought was the same thing as yours is like, I don't have a journalism background, but I love to talk to people. So I'm like, you know what? Let's start a conversation about something. You know, why are we not talking? And it was the men's mental health episode I did with my other show, which was just me messing around, telling stories about things I'd experienced in my service industries of, you know, working in customer service. And these stories that people like think you think I'm kidding when I tell them these stories. So like, are you serious? I'm like, yeah, these are all real stories. I'm telling people and like people that worked with me were listening to this shit going. Sylva Florence: Yeah. I'm serious. Pete "mental Health Champ": What is he talking about? So my original one was called Pete's Corner Story because I work in a guest station now. So I was like, you know what? I'm just going to come together, do some wild stuff. I had friends come on and things like that. But when I got to this one, I was like, you know what? I'm going to try something different. I'm just going to go for it, make a post. I went into a random Facebook group and just like put the whole idea out there. This is the idea. Really, I don't have an idea what I'm going to do with this just yet. Anybody interested? I tell you, when I thought this phone, my phone was going to explode. It went off so much. I had like 150 responses. And I didn't realize how many people wanted to talk about it. like, you know, it was originally was it was Pete first anxiety. I don't remember what other names I came up before that I didn't really like, you know, but it just hit me one day I was sitting there like, you know, Pete first anxiety, because every day of battle, my anxiety was the idea of the original idea behind it. And I was wondering why we're not talking about our mental health. So my question you though, is like, how did you get to magic medicine and mayhem? mean, because you went from live from suckville, which is a great name, I thought is awesome to where you're now. Sylva Florence: Nice. I know. Thanks. Well, okay. So, I mean, I started it while I was healing and I started to talk to other people about their healing. And then as I was doing, well, I started to talk to people about their traumatic experiences, basically, and their adversity that they went through. And what I started to notice is that like every single person I talked to at some point, either during the interview or after was like, wow, this was so healing. Like this was so... Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. OK. OK. Sylva Florence: like good for me to talk about. And I was like, huh, that's interesting. And so then I started being like, how could I help people heal more? Like what could I do to help people more? And so that's actually when I just start, when I went down the path that I am now, because I've become an energetic healer. So I do, I offer Reiki and shamanic services and I do online events and courses and all sorts of stuff. And so then the podcast name didn't really fit anymore. Like it didn't really fit where I was anymore. So I decided to change it to magic medicine and mayhem. And so that's what it is now. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. So what got you into energy healing? Because that's an interesting area to get into because like I was introduced to it when I got into the whole thing and I started going down that path. What got you into it? Sylva Florence: that question, like what could I do to help people? And I've always been kind of interested in, I mean, I guess like magic you could say. Like when I was little, I was always like playing with like mermaids and fairies and dragons and like writing all these stories about all these like fantastical things that would happen. And Reiki is almost kind of like a real life magic, because it's, you can't see it, but it works. And so. Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Sylva Florence: That's kind of like the gateway healing practice that I learned was like, I got my Reiki certificate was the first thing that I did because I had some Reiki done on me when I was healing and it was really helpful. And so I was like, hmm, maybe I'll do that. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. Oh, okay. Okay. Well, it makes sense now a little bit because you you experience it for yourself and a lot of people go through these experiences get into those kind of things. So like, you know, hey, this work for me. Now, maybe I'll do this for other people now, you know, because it's an interesting area to get into because I didn't know what Reiki was for longest time and then I met a few people along the way. think one guy from Australia and the earlier stages of the show, we met him early on. He was coming in all the way from Australia. We Sylva Florence: Mm-hmm. Pete "mental Health Champ": we had met him and he was telling us more about it because I never knew what it was. And then I got introduced to energy healing later in the season, the first year, first part of the first half of the year, because I started in September. So summer November is where I met the energy healer that I had met that me and her had discussed it a little bit. And she was explaining a lot of things like I'm energy sensitive and, you know, all these other things I didn't know about myself, they didn't make sense to me. But now I do after she explained it to a clear. example. So then I started exploring that route a little more. So I'm energy sensitive. So I can sense people's energy a lot of times, like when I'm sitting in a room with somebody, I'm literally trying to pick up on their energy because I'm working on it all the time. And I'm getting pretty good at it, you know, picking up on people I dislike and don't, you know, people like and dislike. Like, within the first five minutes of talking to most people, I can tell if I like you or not, because like, and it's just that feeling you get, like, you'll know, like, it's hard to tell people what the feeling's like. But to me, it's like a sick pit in my stomach. It's something if I feel sick to my stomach. And around somebody means I don't like them. Something about them I don't like are the energy they're giving off. I don't really like too much, you know, and things like that too. And I've met a few other energy healers along the way. One actually runs a podcast called The Metamorphosis Project. know, so I've had it done myself too. I've had energy healing sessions done before and things like that. Explored that, explored human design. Sylva Florence: Mm-hmm. Pete "mental Health Champ": You know, all these other things I started going into these different areas of things, you know, just started branching off to learn more about stuff. I even did astrological, did an astro, so star chart reading, cause I was just curious. So like, I've never done him like, you know, what the hell let's go for, why not? You know, you know, I had the same thought you did, but I'm not, I don't have the journalism background, but I had the sense of a journalist, a journalist, know, like I'm always interested in more conversations, different things, exploring different things. We even did quantum healing. That was an interesting whole thing. You know, have somebody sit there and for like two hours, dig around in your subconscious mind and, Sylva Florence: Yeah, why not? Pete "mental Health Champ": learn things about yourself that you didn't even know existed, you know, and things like that too. So like the show opened that possibility up just like, you know, like you were doing, like you open the doors for some people, man, and sometimes you live in some of wildest stories you've ever heard in your life come through these doors. think last season, season three, so season opener was probably wild, it's still the number one wildest story. Well, I may have a few this season coming up that are going to blow it off the doors, but we'll see because like, you don't know what people are going to tell you. One woman, we went from talking about her to, Sylva Florence: Yeah. No, you don't. Pete "mental Health Champ": her talking about how she was sexually assaulted at three years old, didn't know until it's until a hypnosis therapy session. She went into a, she was doing some therapy and then, you know, she did hypnotic, hypnotic therapy. She was in in there and she kept, they kept saying something was wrong, you know, kept hinting at it. And then she just drops this bombshell of a story. And I'm just like, wait, what, what the hell happened? Cause you don't know where you're going to go. And it's the same thing with you. No, it's like, you're dealing with these people's trauma. These people are telling you these things, you know, Sylva Florence: Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": And I don't know if you're an empath, I am. So like I had to learn early on how to protect myself because like I was so emotionally drained after listening to these stories. Like I'm like, dude, I need a nap after this. This is rough because these guys were laying some serious things on us, you know. And it was interesting because like every person you meet, it's a whole new experience because you don't know what you're going to learn from them, you know, and you start learning new things, you know. And it's so cool because it's like I was doing like, at first I was doing five days a week. I was interviewing people and I worked third shift. So I work all night, come home, record the show live with people and we're live mind you. So there's the human element of people coming from the internet talking to you about weird shit, asking you random questions and things like that while you're live, you know? And so I moved to a closed element setting because some of these stories were getting so, so intense. It's like, you want to keep that intimate setting for people when they come in because they're sharing their personal business. That way in case after you're done and they want to like, you hey, listen, can we edit some parts out? Yeah, we can take that out. No problem. You know, and we've covered everything in the show, suicide all the way down to like, like the one girl said she, she drank bleach, cut her wrist. It was literally the statement she made. was like, wait, what, what did you just say to me? Huh? Like, you know, and we, had a guy live though, one time he was telling us he thought about killing himself that morning. Lit his exact statement and was, Pete, can I tell you something? I'm like, yeah, why not? He was like, he, Sylva Florence: When. Pete "mental Health Champ": He was going through it. You could tell he was going through it. like, you know, that's when I start learning how to read people's body language a lot of times. You're like, could tell somebody's up with him. I was like, you know, and he's talking to say, Hey man, can I tell you something? I was like, yeah. And he starts going into 15 minutes and this thing goes, well, I lost my friend in December to suicide. I was like, I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry. You know, and I'm like, I'm trying to stay calm because this is the first time I've ever had a deal with this conversation. Knowing it would come up. He was literally telling us, he's like that morning I had the gun in my hand and he, I was like, I finally pieced it together. What he was about to say next. He's like, Sylva Florence: Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": I was sitting at the edge of the bed, I had the gun in my hand, know, I thinking about putting it against my temple and pulling the trigger. was always like, and in my head I'm freaking out, but on the camera I'm keeping it completely cool, but I'm freaking out on the inside because I'm like, oh my God, this guy is talking about killing himself, you know, and like it was the first time experienced it. And then I was like, yeah, that's when I start really considering like maybe we shouldn't be doing these live. You know, we should take them to a private setting for those kinds of conversations because we did September for Suicide Awareness Month, did an episode, a few episodes of some people. Sylva Florence: Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": where we got into the conversation where one girl we were actually in the perspective of the person that was actually got close and she didn't the bullet missed her brain when she took, she shot herself. The bullet missed somehow, but you're looking at a person, the perspective of the person that is going through it. And she's like, for some reason, the abuser in this situation is freaking out, but you don't know why at this point in the conversation. So she gets into it and goes, yeah, you know, then I come to realize that I had the gun next to me. I was bleeding out of the side of my head. I'm just like, wait, what? What's going on? This conversation just took a whole new turn and you're just like, whoa. And after that, I'm like, I've got to walk away from this. This is a lot, man. This is a lot. And then it was the woman who told us that she had to tell her kids, dad killed himself and they were like seven or eight and she had to explain it to them in a way they'd understand. the conversations got wild. And I'm sure you exploring people's other people's trauma probably went through the same thing I did. Sylva Florence: Yeah. There's been some pretty interesting conversations for sure. for sure. Mm hmm. Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but you know, have the you have the journalism background, so it'd probably be a little different for way you were you were asking people questions about it, though. But we also had John Dacoccas from CNN that came on here and he was he was hanging out with us for a bit, too. Real cool guy, by the way, came on and he was he was an interesting character to talk to, too, because he was doing remotely from his car. He was traveling with his wife and everything, too. So it was really cool to get him, meet him on. reached John reached out to me on the show. And I was like, OK, this is interesting, you know, so like this. This has been great. So. Sylva Florence: Nice. you Pete "mental Health Champ": So my question for though, guest wise, you had any interesting people come on, anybody you want to brag about? Like, hey listen, I this person come on. Sylva Florence: I mean, I haven't really had any like, quote unquote famous people come on yet. You never know. Yeah, because I kind of specifically wanted to talk to people that are just like your average Joe or Jane, you know, I wanted to talk to people who, you know, are just living a normal life, but they've had these experiences that are really incredible. And, you know, intense, but like, Pete "mental Health Champ": famous in their own right. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Sylva Florence: they came out the other side and they wanna talk about it. And it's always changed them in some way, even if they don't even really realize it until they're talking about it. So no, I haven't really had any like famous people on or anything yet, but you never know. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah, yeah. I would have really many famous people, but like I said, John, John came out. was really interesting. Just the opportunities to people that end up in my inbox and like John and I were on the same guest matching site and that's how we linked up. And I was like, okay, you know, John had hit me up and I was like, at first I didn't realize who he was until I started looking into his background. Cause I, I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't really do much prep for these shows. I kind of like look at who I'm talking to in the lot. All this conversation comes directly off the top of my head. So like a lot of these things I'm talking about. Now there are other episodes I plan for like, you know, depending on what it is. Sylva Florence: Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": I've had special requests if you'll come on and want to talk about the book. Okay, well give me a little guideline what to work from. What are we on a highlight? know, things like that too. Like I'm open to lot of conversations. I think I've only had to turn on like three or four because they got a little extreme. But you know, other than that, it's been interesting to see what conversations you get. I've done a lot of media panels. I've done a lot of other podcasts and things. So it's fun. It's been fun traveling around doing other shows because you get to see like how different people do their shows and how they ask you different questions. and things like that as well. are you still recording the show now? Sylva Florence: I am, I haven't been very consistent with it lately because I've been really focused on trying to get the book out the door. So once I do that, like once I send it off to agents, then I'll have more time. Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm What's what's we have to know what's what's the timeline in the book? Do we have a date yet? Do we know what we're going to do here? Because we're obviously going to ask you to come back and talk about it with us. Sylva Florence: Well, I hope so. I would love to. That'd be awesome. Pete "mental Health Champ": Definitely. Oh yeah, definitely. Listen, I invite anybody who always says book, I always get my peaks and interests. I'm like, oh, you said book? Okay, let's dig into this a little more because they're always interesting because you get the authors to come on and it's easier for, I could tell people about the book all day, but the person that wrote it is right here in front of you. Let's let them tell you exactly what it is that it's about, know, what would you want the takeaways to be for the book for people. So do you know what the date is yet? Or we have an idea of what frame we're looking at here? Sylva Florence: Not yet, because I am looking to get an agent and then an editor. So it all depends on how quickly I find an agent and how quickly we find an editor for it. So it could happen. It could be the third or fourth agent, or it could be the 34th agent. Who knows? Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Have you considered self-publishing it? I know lot of people self-publish their own works these days now too. Sylva Florence: Self-publishing is always an option, but once I've self-published something, I can't try and send it to agents and editors like the big publishing houses, because they always want an unpublished work. So that would be maybe like later on if this doesn't work, but I have a feeling that it's going to. Because this book is like Wilde. Have you ever heard of Wilde? But it's very embodied and grounded in like forward motion. Pete "mental Health Champ": okay. Mm-hmm. Sylva Florence: And she was a lot about punishing herself during her trip, but I was more about rebuilding and rediscovering myself. Pete "mental Health Champ": Have you ever considered writing a memoir too about your journey going across the states? know, cause I think that'd be very interesting to get your mindset of what your thoughts were going through as you progress through each one and kind of do the chapters like every state you pass through. Is it really? Okay. Well, I'm going along the right lines then. That's really cool though. Okay. I like this. I like this. All right. I'm excited. I can't wait to see this thing. I'm ready. I'm ready to check this out. can't wait. Cause I think it's interesting cause I want to know your mindset of what you were going through. Sylva Florence: I mean, that's what it is. That's what it is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what it is. It's, it's, it's. Yeah, I read. Pete "mental Health Champ": as you're because I can only imagine the thoughts are going through your head as you're going through and experiencing these things. Sylva Florence: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's definitely, I mean, it's an inward and outward journey, things. It reads like a fiction book, you know, but it's a memoir. Pete "mental Health Champ": So let me ask. Oh, okay. Awesome. I love it. So the real question is how did you end up in Italy? I'm kind of curious now. Did you did you just say forget it? I just want to go see the world fell in love with Italy and decided that you want to stay there. Sylva Florence: Mm-hmm. Well, when I was still with my ex, we started coming over here because we were working for a bicycle tour company. So I was like a Jane of all trades, like whatever they needed, I would go on a tour last minute. would cook, I would do logistics. My ex was a mechanic. And so when we split up, I decided that I wanted to come over here and have an adventure and see if I can make it work. Cause I really liked Europe in general for like... Pete "mental Health Champ": okay. Okay Sylva Florence: many years I wanted to move over here. So I just got myself a student visa actually while I was traveling across the states on my bike, I started to get organized. And eight years later, I'm still here. That'll be the next one. Pete "mental Health Champ": Have you ever thought of touring like doing the Tour de Friends kind of like the same trail they do like the Tour de Friends kind of thing like going down the same almost the same trail they did that'd be kind of cool since you're a cyclist anyways that's something that you're big for yeah Sylva Florence: Yeah, I don't know. mean, pieces of it, sure, why not? But I don't know, that would be pretty intense. That's like, you'd have to be really in shape for that. And plus carrying all the bags and everything, would be, it would probably be a little bit difficult. But Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. Well, know, you never know. It could be something cool to check out, though, since you're a cyclist, know, enthusiast already. You're deep in it already. It'd be funny cool to check out some of the sites. You can just see some of the areas that these guys have gone through, you know, and you could probably. Sylva Florence: Yeah. no, we've definitely, my current husband and I were both cyclists. so we, we've gone, we've gone various, like, when the tour de France came through our area a couple of years ago, we, rode, we rode up a mountain and, and waited for them to come through. So it was really cool. Pete "mental Health Champ": okay. that'd be so cool. that's so cool. That'd be really cool though to see it firsthand. Sylva Florence: Also the Giro d'Italia is coming through, coming near us next Sunday. So we're going to go see it. Pete "mental Health Champ": What is that exactly? Because I don't think I've ever heard of that one. Maybe that's not really familiar. Sylva Florence: That is kind of like a tour de France, but it's in Italy. It's probably the second most popular cycle competition that there is. There's so many, so many. Pete "mental Health Champ": okay. That's really cool though. Nice. Yeah, see, I didn't even know that one even exists. That's really cool. I'll have to check out that, you know, because listen, listen, hats off to those guys, man. You know, let's watch it. They go through and all that. I'm like, dude, I couldn't do it. Like I could barely bike down to the end of the road. You kidding me? I could only imagine driving across going across the whole United States. More power to you, man. More power to you. OK, so we're at the part of this interview. I don't know if you've ever seen these episodes, but we're going to ask you two questions. All right. So the first one is a fun question I ask everybody. So the question to you. Sylva Florence: Yeah. It was a trip. Bring it on. Pete "mental Health Champ": is if your mental health had a song, what would you say that song would be? Sylva Florence: My mental health had a song, what would that song be? that's a good question. Probably something by Credence. Do, do, do, looking out my back door, something like that. Pete "mental Health Champ": I love it. That's awesome. Yeah, because when I did it, mine had multiple answers to it because I have anxiety, depression, and mine kind of go in an infinite loop. So mine can change anything. And music's a big part of my life. I love music. always constantly listening music all the time. So I'm always looking at different things. I get artists on the show. And it's great to hear people's responses because you get the different answers to what it is. So it's never, it's an open ended question. Nothing wrong with it. Okay. So now the next question and the reason this podcast was started. Sylva Florence: Nice. Pete "mental Health Champ": is if you could break the stigma about mental health. Now, when I ask you this, I'm asking you from the standpoint of something you hear on a daily basis. You just want people to stop believing. What would you say that one thing would be? Sylva Florence: that I want people to stop saying or stop doing. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah, stop believing, stop saying anything that falls in that category. Just things that drive you crazy. hear people say. Sylva Florence: something. you know, here in Italy, it's a very, it's a culture where everybody has a lot of pressure to be like everyone else and to fit in, you know, there's a lot of pressure, but I feel like that's not only here in Italy. It's just very tangible here. And so what I wish that people would do was do Pete "mental Health Champ": Mm-hmm. Sylva Florence: what makes them feel good, like no matter what that is, you know, and it's really hard to not care what people think, but the better you feel about yourself, the better that you feel like in your body and your life, you know, the more that you follow your version of authentic, the less you'll care what other people think. So, yeah, I just want, I just really want people to Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah, I think that's a great point. Sylva Florence: to be themselves, which is really hard, but I support. Pete "mental Health Champ": Yeah. Too many things in society and, know, Facebook and all these other social sites. feel like you have a really good point there. I think too many people see these other people and think that that's the way they need to act. So my big thing with the younger kids is that we need to stop sending the wrong messages to them. Like stop telling them that you have to be the super pretty one to get all the attention. You know, all that. And then these guys, God, I wish they'd stop saying this stupid shit about how, go back to the kitchen. Like, I just want to choke some of them. Like, dude, just stop. Sylva Florence: Yeah. Pete "mental Health Champ": Like stop. Why do you need to degrade somebody? What is the point of that? Like why do that to people? That's just, I don't get it. The internet's a dangerous place, but anyways. Would that be... Sylva Florence: Like you go back to the kitchen then. You go back to the kitchen. Word. Pete "mental Health Champ": Exactly, exactly. Tell them. So before we start signing off, Silva, you have any last words, anything inspirational that you want everybody to leave a lasting impression on? What's your message to everybody here before we sign off? Sylva Florence: Well, the message, one of the underlying, probably the underlying theme of the book is curiosity over fear. know, so like leaning into the curiosity when you find yourself being afraid of like what might happen because you want to make a change or what might happen if you were more yourself or what might happen if, you know, you were allowed to do whatever you wanted and fall in love with whoever you wanted or whatever it is. which is like to get curious about why you're feeling afraid and get curious about what it is that's keeping you stuck instead of letting fear like trap you, you know? And seeing what you can do with it, seeing how you can transform it. Pete "mental Health Champ": I absolutely love it. Yep, I absolutely love it. I absolutely, absolutely love it. think it's a fantastic statement. With that being said, before we wrap up, let everybody know where they can check you out. You know, where your socials are, whatever social you want to plug. You want to plug the podcast so they can catch up until you start getting back on it again. That way they can make sure they know where to catch you and all that kind of stuff. Guys, I'm going to provide all these in the bio for you all. So don't worry. She's going to tell you where to find her. I'm going leave the links for you. If everybody that's listening at home, that way you can reach out and let her know. And then when we know what the book is, we're definitely going to invite her to come back. We'll have her come back, get all the links and all that stuff. Sylva Florence: You too. Pete "mental Health Champ": set up for you guys to go check it out. So lay it on them girl, where can they find you? Sylva Florence: So you can find me almost everywhere. You can find the podcast literally everywhere, just like Pete said, it's everywhere. You can find me on Instagram, on threads, on LinkedIn. My website is sylvafluorance.com. You can find me all over the world wide webs. Pete "mental Health Champ": Love it, love it. And with that being said, guys, we're gonna wrap up this episode of Pete first anxiety. You guys don't find me on Pete first anxiety on X, I'll be down to TikTok. I'm on Spotify all the way down to Panda radio. And as always say, it costs nothing absolutely kind to somebody. One kind act you could do could save someone's life or hell, can make their day. I'm Pete first anxiety saying I'll say and don't ask how your day is today. Say, Hey, how's your mental health?