Project Description
Adolfo, BC, Canada
“I’ve been feeling stuck for quite a while. I’ve been suffering from depression for a while as well, and anxiety was a big thing. I was going for talk therapy, but I was not able to visualize the whole picture. It was like having pieces of a puzzle: you know every single piece well, but you’re just not able to build the image. And with coming to Fresh Start, I was finally able to build the puzzle and, finally, really understand where a lot of things come from and what I need to do to be happy and to be a good member of the society.”
Improvements with: Anxiety, Childhood Trauma, Depression, Difficulty Walking/ Flexibility, Emotional Trauma, Emotional Eating/ Food Addictions, Frozen Shoulder, Heart Healing, Insomnia/ Sleep Issues, Low Energy/ Chronic Fatigue, Nose Bleeding, Unhealthy Lifestyle Patterns, Sinus Issues, Weight Loss/ Obesity.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Neglect of mental health and not feeling understood. . I come from a culture that really underestimates mental health. They think that just by getting busy or doing stuff you suddenly forget about what you're going through. Also, being a man in a particularly conservative culture, they teach me from a very young age to hide my emotions, to not be emotional, to just stuff it up. But that's not how it works. Eventually, you know everything just accumulates until you cannot handle it anymore. | Being able to just take a break from everything, reset my whole mind, my whole body going through the different detoxes and counselling helped me a lot as well to clear my mind…. I really connected with the counselor that I was assigned with and I felt understood, which was really important to me… Pretty much everything connects to the coping mechanisms that I used and comes down to a bunch of memories. They are pretty similar. When a situation is being repeated, it makes me put them together in one single memory, and they all are connected with it. And, finally, being able to reach down to that little kid inside of me and being able to tell him that everything is gonna be all right and that we got this, it's being really rewarding and exciting. |
| Cravings, self-destructing behaviours and traumas - I used talk therapy for years prior but could not put the puzzle together. | I was given the different classes, for example. This and other classes gave me tools to deal with daily stresses, with those cravings, with my self-destructive behaviors. I'm really excited to get them to apply them to everyday life. Somatic therapy was amazing! I never really took seriously the energies in the body, and, I guess, I was proved wrong. It really makes a difference. Plus just being more active, more aware of what I'm doing, aware of signs that may lead to having anxiety, dealing with my urges in a healthier way. Also, not seeing those urges as a bad thing that you need to push away, because pushing away is the easiest way to deal with pain, to deal with suffering. It's actually embracing those urges and working them in a better and much healthier way. |
| Feeling stiff and heavy. | I think after the fourth or fifth day of my stay, I started feeling more agile, a little lighter, feeling more relaxed, calmer, really disconnecting from, everyday life, from work, from all those sources of stress. It has really helped me to come to terms with a lot of different things. |
| Unhealthy Eating Habits | I've been liking a lot of the food. I was not really big on veggies and now I feel like almost my palate has reset it and I'm enjoying everything here. |
| Tight shoulders and back pain - - I was always in a constant state of fear, in a state of flight or fight. Finally, after a long time, I even forgot what it felt like to have my shoulders and my whole body relaxed. | I don't even remember the last time I was relaxed so my shoulders were so relaxed. Maybe eight years or, maybe, even more… I never thought that I would just go away like that… |
| Not connecting anxiety with physical pain. | I think the tool that really helped me a lot was somatic therapy. Being able to understand how emotions work, how they can get stuck in your body and cause you pain and suffering. I'm finally able to release those emotions and just be able feel relaxed and ready to do other things…. I notice, when I get anxiety there's a little bit of discomfort in the middle of my spine. But using the tools that I was given, I am able to just get rid of it before it actually becomes a problem. |
| Sleep -I was able to sleep solid, I'd say, maybe five hours. I would lay in bed and it would take me a pretty long time to fall asleep. Even with eight, sometimes 12 hrs on the weekend, I did not feel rested. Overall, the sleep was really inconsistent, especially when my depression got the better of me, that's when it became really unregulated. I would maybe fall asleep at five AM in the morning, maybe rest for a couple of hours and then I had to wake up and kind of just function as best as I could. I always hated mornings and I never really considered myself a morning person. | Here, I am able to go to bed at a reasonable time and to wake up early. In the morning, even after waking up early, I feel well rested. And now wake up even before my alarm sounds, which I never thought it was like possible. So being able to be quite active in the morning is really nice… I'm definitely sleeping solid 7 hours. I think that's all why my body needs… I don't feel as tired throughout the day. Also I am able to get to know my body quite a lot better, for example, I can sense when like my body doesn't want to do something or when it is saying to me: take it easy. don't go all crazy. Because I tend to sometimes just plow through things and go a little bit hard on myself and on my body. |
| Extra Weight. | I lost during one month of pre-program 10 lbs, during the first week of the program 10 lbs., and 5 lbs. during the 2nd week of the program. |
| Sinus Issues -definitely was a big thing, especially whenever I would go to my hometown in Mexico City. Mexico City tends to be pretty polluted and I would always have my sinuses all clogged. | Here, I don’t feel clogged. With some treatments here, like the salt cocoon and others, I am able to breathe better and overall have less discomfort. |
| Nose Bleeding - I would get quite a bit of nosebleeds, especially from the left nostril: 2 or even 3 nose bleeds a week. I just thought that I just had a really sensitive nose. | I hadn't had one in a little over two weeks since I’ve been here. |
| Blood pressure and pulse. | I didn't have any major pulse or blood pressure programs that were concerning, but I definitely see them slightly lower just because of the fact that I'm more relaxed. |
Experience Highlights:
- Somatic Therapy
- Counselling
- Food
- Ability to rest and relax
- Massages, especially of neck and shoulders
- Entire package
The information above is based on the following resources:
- Unedited Video Testimonial Materials
- Before and After Self-Assessment
- Program Participation and Progress Sheet
- Before and After Emotional Wellness Tests
Disclaimer : Results of participants differ and the Fresh Start cannot guarantee that you will experience your improvements in the same way as in this testimonial. The Fresh Start is not an allopathic medical facility and does not claim to either diagnose or treat any disease. The Fresh Start does not guarantee a recovery from any specific disease or a health symptom.
