Project Description
Emily, AB, Canada
“Sexual assault happens to the body, and I do not see a lot of programs that are addressing that. Fresh Start addresses the body, where you hold things, and it addresses having a relationship with your body again. And it addresses detoxing. When you are a victim of sexual assault, there is a feeling of being dirty; there is a feeling that something bad has happened to you. I’m unclean, I’m gross… When at Fresh Start, you realize when your body gets activated and when your fight or flight response is firing all the time, and so it’s not actually about you, it’s about your body and how to release it. There are a lot of release points here that I wouldn’t have had in conventional talk therapy, and it is also a safe space.”
Improvements with: Breathing/ Lung Issues, Emotional Trauma, PTSD, Sexual Assault.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Depression Score: 42 (Extreme) | Depression Score: 11 (Mild mood disturbance, borderline normal) |
| Anxiety Score: 33 (Moderate, borderline concerning) | Anxiety Score: 6 (low) |
| Sexual assault: I had been the victim of a sexual assault and was not coping with that very well. I have two young kids and didn’t want to cook for myself. I didn’t have the energy. Hypervigilance – because of the assault, the body was in a fight or flight mode. I wanted something to snap me out of it and make me feel safe. The super-activated adrenaline and cortisol are flowing all the time. The panic: who’s coming up the driveway, who’s at the door, what car just drove by? I was constantly firing all day long and knew it was unhealthy. Bipolar: started to fall into one of the depressive episodes. I definitely noticed that my regular depression characteristics started to stack up and come around. I did not want to leave my house. Hopelessness and despair: the assault left me without a job as well. | Fresh Start addresses the body where you hold things, and it addresses having a relationship with your body again. And it addresses detoxing. When you are a victim of sexual assault, there is a feeling of being dirty. There is a feeling that something bad has happened to you… I’m dirty, I’m unclean, I’m gross. And it feels personal… When at Fresh Start, you realize when your body gets activated and when your fight or flight response is firing all the time, and so it’s not actually about you, it’s about your body and how to release it. There are gazillion different things at Fresh Start that make you release what you are holding in your body, both physically and metaphysically… Being around other people that are as messed up as I am gives me a frame of reference and lets me know: ok, I’m really mangled, but so it this person. And when I look at another person: she is crushing it. Maybe I also look like that to another person, too? I had this weird dance all by myself in my room one night because my body was like, Hey, let's talk to each other. Let's move. And that's something I've never done, before. |
| Bad Fast Food Eating: When I came here, I was eating whatever I wanted. I was eating fast food a lot. I was just not thinking about what was going into my body or how that mattered. 'Cause I was like, oh, my brain is on fire. Who cares about my body? | When you start working on the body and eating better food and detoxing and taking these supplements, and then things are happening in your body, things are moving… It clears a path for the emotional work you have to do, because your body is now happy. Then you can get back to your brain. |
| I was not breathing and stuck inside. I'd walk for half an hour, then I'd be done. Since the assault, I have not been able to do anything that puts any amount of pressure on my body or even gives me any release. | Now, because of the yoga and the meditation and everything, I'll find myself walking along the ocean and just all of a sudden stand there and breathe it all in…. I was walking by the ocean a lot. Here, it's like a never-ending line of beach. So you can walk and walk and walk. So my walks were like building up day by day, and then I was just like breathing in fresh, salty air and feeling invigorated, feeling it in my body and allowed to take up space… Then my pace picked up and then all of a sudden I was running. I would not have been able to do that two weeks ago. But now it’s like a release that comes from the inside. |
| Complex PTSD from multiple traumas. You don’t want to unpack the bag. You don’t wanna get into your brain and just throw it all behind you. | Safe, monitored, nurturing environment and trauma work is hard. And there are a lot of these classes where you are lying down on mat with a blankie and a pillow, and you are warm and you are safe. And you are cultivating these really great feelings of: the trauma is not here right now, because the environment is set-up. So what are you afraid of? Your blanket? The triggers are all taken away. And you can prepare yourself for when the next trauma hits. What tools do I have that I can fall back on? If you are stacking your traumas, you are just coping with the one that’s on top with the skill that you have that’s on top. Whereas here: Maybe I could try detoxing, taking this out of my diet for a couple of days? Maybe I could try this yoga practice. Maybe I could try meditation. Maybe I could try going to a somatic therapist. You now have all these different ways to conquer trauma that you didn’t have before. |
| Asthma Attacks after physical activity: My asthma has issues with temperature fluctuations. If I’d run at home, I would always grab an inhaler before I went for a run. I would have carried Ventolin with me and used it at the end of the walk. When I do physical activity, if it’s a run or a walk, especially a walk in the cold, then I’ll need to use my Ventolin. | I didn’t even think about the inhaler today. Then I did the whole run all the way to the marina and then back, and once I got inside, I had a little: oh, that’s weird. Oh, should probably get my Ventolin. And then I drank some water and chatted with somebody for a minute, and then my asthma was gone. I was: Oh, I guess we don’t have to get our Ventolin. I didn’t have to use it at all. |
| Sleep Concerns: Having bipolar, I was concerned that coming here would disturb my sleep, because I was outside my routine and safe space, and the sleep hygiene that I’ve created for myself. | The first day I was here, I drank the Sleepy Time Tea, and 20 minutes after, I was asleep at 8:50 p.m. I was like: whoa, sleep is great out here! I actually was able to stay on exactly eight to nine hours every night, no problem. |
Experience Highlights:
- Ability to heal in a group – when you do it at home, it is usually done over a way longer period of time, or in smaller increments, or you just feel lonely while you do it. Getting to bond with the group through non-scheduled activities, but by going to the steam and eating the same food together and cleansing together, I think that piece is probably the most amazing part that I wouldn’t have gotten at home.
- People at Fresh Start are in different states. Some people are here for physical things, some people are here for emotional things. Before this, I really didn’t think that body mattered. And then you meet someone for whom it is a forte. You’ll end up sitting with someone, and they’ll be talking about some kind of natural skin product. You are getting the knowledge.
- Somatic Therapy and counselling sessions
- I like that the program is so diverse – I didn’t get bored
- Guided walks were cool
- Steam Room – the different combination of people you get to sit with and get to talk to and go over your day. So many things happened there! People had really valuable conversations.
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.
