Research author, clinical trainer, and psychologist Faust Ruggiero has for over 40 years helped people overcome mental health challenges. In the first half, he discussed anxiety and depression and shared tips for combating them. He views them both as a physical disorder related to neurotransmitter imbalances in the brain. These conditions are not who you are; it is what you have, he pointed out. Bipolar disorder is a fluctuation between depression and acute anxiety, he explained. In the world we live in, almost everyone has bouts with anxiety or depression, but for most, it's manageable. With more severe cases of depression and anxiety, the entire body is often affected, and people might say, 'My whole body hurts,' he reported, adding that these conditions can worsen as a person ages.
While he is not against pharmaceutical medications, he noted they often have side effects, so he considers them a last resort for treatment. Supplements like 5-HTP and St. John's wort may be beneficial for mild depression and anxiety, he said. Ruggiero stressed the importance of seeing a counselor or therapist who can evaluate a client's situation and personalize a plan specific to their needs. Paying attention to one's diet and maintaining social contact can also be helpful. For those suffering from panic attacks (a severe form of anxiety), he suggested practicing slow breathing, which can calm the body down right away, and by concentrating on breathing, it can take the mind off the anxiety.
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In the latter half, podcast host, writer, and paranormal expert Joshua P. Warren spoke about his sigil research, his experiences with Robert the Haunted Doll, and some of his experimental projects. When he studied the doll in Key West, he shined a UV light on his sleeve, and a mysterious symbol appeared that otherwise couldn't be seen. This symbol or sigil might have been placed there in a ritual and could be what has imbued Robert with his seeming "life," Warren speculated. Sigils (view ones for luck & money he shared with us) are magical symbols that go back thousands of years and could be thought of as "an abstract image that seems to capture a certain energy pattern and acts almost as an antenna for it," he explained.
Warren has developed a lab where he is creating unique sigils for people based on their names. He shared an update on his experiment to build a "portal opening machine" out in the desert on his property and revealed that there is an area known as the Nevada Triangle (from Las Vegas to Reno and over to California) that has had more human disappearances than the Bermuda Triangle. Joshua also talked about his new ritual, "The Pit of the Black Abyss," which came to him through a dream. It involves staring into your eye pupils in a mirror and looking deeper and deeper. As you do this, make a free-form circular drawing on a piece of paper, and it will contain a certain energy like a "psychic battery" that can give you a boost, he said.
News segment guests: Christian Wilde, Kevin Randle