Ive heard of Free Minds when I attempted to contact Yasmine for support in March. I have been in a place and a country where I cannot explore myself, forced to follow a religion that I don't believe and a family that bullies my decisions. I was completely overwhelmed by emotions that sometimes brought me to dark places and even, dark thoughts. I even wished to a point that I wanted to put an end to all that hurts. Hence I started communicating Free minds and I was connected to Jimmy.
At first, the sessions were all general and more informative and I was a bit skeptical to be honest. Until we started discussing to the reasons that brought me to my dark thoughts, I remember crying for at least 10m after the session, and even thought it was hard to visit that space, yet when I faced it with complete strength ( Of course with the help of Jimmy) I have managed to fight this dark Aura. And with the days passing by, I've learned to face all those thoughts in reality. I've realised that the words that used to be bullied with, the religion i was forced to follow, and most importantly the decision on who to love were all controlled by ME and ME only. Nothing affects me anymore, because simply, I deserve to live my life to its fullest and I should be deciding how to live this life, Not my FAMILY and definitely not by BELIEFS that are not even mine. I became stronger, more focused and learned to take matters in life with less complexity. I've befriended people who respect what I am and still love me, who are now my family and most importantly, a family that RESPECTS me. I have Jimmy and Free Hearts Free Minds to thank because NOW my MIND is indeed FREE. Every session provided me with sense of independence and love to what I already appreciate in life. I appreciate the exercise that made me love and respect myself through any troubles and most importantly, I loved how relaxing Jimmy's voice was. That voice helped me visit places in my soul that was locked for over 10 years and helped me empty everything that was negative in my life. It helped me reset every bit of my soul and changed into a new, refreshed one that's ready for life in all its forms. As much as I wish that I could have more time just to have those positive conversations, but I love how that's the only thing that I miss about our sessions. Because I was taught how to fish and was not given a fish that fed my hunger for a day. And I could never thank him enough for that. I wish for everyone who is in such dark place that I once used to live, to stumble through freeheartsfreeminds.com and then be guided to the place where I am today. A place that's filled with positivity, strength and most importantly FREEDOM. Thank you again for providing such a great opportunity. Yours Truly Sheraz
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Life is hard you have to hide your identity . One can't express him or herself for fear for their life even from ones own family . Its hard to hide all the time.
2018 was tough year for me. I was very frustrated with my situation and things with family and my status had me in a tight spot . I am now more positive about life and how to deal with it. More sessions would have been great. I am happy that my sessions with Free Hearts Free Minds were by an ExMuslim who understood my situation and the threats I face . Going into the sessions in the beginning, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I found out about the website from a friend of mine who recommended it after knowing my struggles. I sent an email immediately just because it sounded like such a good concept.
Being an Ex Muslim in Oman has always felt very lonely. I’ve never met anyone whose beliefs were like mine and it felt very unfair for me to be the only one with this kind of mentality. The worst part for me was feeling like I didn’t belong and that there was nothing I could do to make my life bearable here. I was very hopeless and felt like there was no way for me to possibly live a happy life. My main struggles were about every day tasks like going to school and seeing my friends. Because everything around me, from my hijab to the prayers I have to do every day reminded me of Islam and that’s why I felt depressed and anxious often. Now looking back, after finishing my sessions, I am a much calmer person. The main thing I learned is to be able to control my thoughts or the route they’re going in; therefore, control my reactions. I’m generally happier and more outgoing, and definitely not nearly as hopeless as I was before. The every day tasks that I still do aren’t as troubling to me anymore, I’m much better at controlling how I feel. I have learned many valuable things from my sessions, but what I have found to be most helpful to me is the cognitive exercises I did with Jimmy. I still am quite consistent with those because they help so much with my mental state; I feel calmer and happier after. Another major thing that has helped me are the visualization exercises, and I do that occasionally which seems to get me in a better mood in the morning. Jimmy is so understanding and really helpful. For me I wouldn’t change anything about my experience. I am very grateful for all the efforts done by the people working so hard to make this happen. The sessions have made my life here much easier. Hopefully they continue to make the lives of Ex Muslims living in Muslim majority countries a tiny bit easier. I am Saudi woman, mother and Ex-Muslim who is fighting for her simple rights. To be born a female in Saudi is to become practically a prisoner. All your moves are controlled. You don’t have the final say in your personal decisions. Women in Islamic community are treated worse than slaves. As a Saudi Woman, depression and anxiety are a part of my life. I recognise now that it has been for the majority of my life. I am a victim of emotional and physical abuse. Me and my kids.
It would take me close to hours to coax myself out of bed. The only reason I would even get up was because I have kids and they need my care. I felt like all my energy was being sucked up in dealing with adverse circumstances, leaving me no resources to do the things I really wanted to do in life. I lost all interest in the hobbies I would have enjoyed in the past. And this was because of that internal tug of war that I was having to go through every day. I believed that something was seriously wrong when I started to have passive suicidal thoughts. I was so lucky to have sessions with Jimmy when I sunk into this deep depression. Jimmy helped me to think about my life in different ways. Before starting the sessions, I was focusing on the bad thoughts that were stopping me from feeling happy, my energy was limited, and the whole situation was negatively affecting me and my kids. The sessions guided me in the right direction to find myself again and experience happiness. I become more positive and started to create a picture in my head of how life should be and when I see myself with my beautiful kids in future it leaves me hopeful. I believe that I still have a long way of fighting, but all the training I have done has been worth it and I'm starting to feel the benefit. I am in better health than I have been for years. Plus, I am not alone anymore, I have a brilliant support group of atheist friends at telegram and Twitter who I was able to find through the support of Free Hearts Free Minds. Thank you Jimmy, Yasmine and everyone who helps towards this scheme for giving me the most incredible advices and supporting me during this hard time In my life. Best regards, Fatmah, Saudia Arabia It is difficult being an ExMuslim in some Somali communities in Kenya and distressful because sometimes people can try to lynch you or get you killed
Before I started the sessions I was in a really dark place. I was thinking about ending my life altogether and I used to feel like dying in my sleep every night. I was in a haze and could not think clearly. I used to feel tense and burning in my stomach all the time because of the stress. I used to smoke all the time. Now after the sessions, I have a very positive view of life. My mind is clear. I have specific goals that I want to achieve. I think straight now. My body and mind are relaxed. I wake up everyday hopeful and optimistic. I have also quit smoking now and don't get suicidal thoughts anymore. I try to keep myself focused on what's important. I have found the strength to look for a new house in a new neighborhood and I live there currently. I also have the strength to cook for myself and look after myself. These sessions have really awakened my senses to my innate ability to cope with stress and push forward with life, my endurance and perseverance. I feel rejuvenated now. I have quit smoking. I am looking for a way of getting out of here to somewhere safe and peaceful. I have managed to move to a new house. Before I was just trying to live for the day. But now I plan what I want to do. The future is bright and if I were to visualize it , I would say it is like a clear night filled to the brim with trillions of stars all shining and beckoning me to grasp them. It is like they are inviting me to have the peace and tranquility I have not hard for the last 25 years. I really hope my situation changes and I can get out of here and live the rest of my life in peace and tranquility. They sessions were interactive which provided me the chance to explore what I wanted to do during my sessions. Also Jimmy was very kind, very professional and really cared about his clients including me. I loved talking to him. He had a way of calming you down and making you feel at peace with yourself. Thanks so much for helping me I am very very very grateful to both Jimmy and Yasmin Mohamed . They are 2 wonderful human beings. Thank you also to everyone who donated to this program. Hassan Ahmed Kenya Updated: Jan 27, 2021 Being a female ExMuslim in Malaysia For the most part is not disruptive to daily life. It is not immediately visible that one is an ex muslim so the presumption will always be I'm a liberal Muslim. The only issue is being an ex Muslim, but Muslim passing due to being Malay, is hard to endure. Being surrounded by your Malay community who are all so clear to you as being indoctrinated and to varying degrees, because of the religion, but you have to play nice, is hard to endure. To read the news and see Islamic authorities doing bullshit things policing citizens and being allocated taxpayers' funds to fund these activities is enraging. To hear the overwhelming male population being entitled in their misogyny is aggravating.
Before the coaching sessions I was struggling because I had felt secure being in the company of the non-muslim community believing they embraced me as one of their own. I'm slow to trust and had believed they were as well and that we had built a rapport over a period of 2 years. I had some kind of psychological breakdown when I realized they never had considered me one of them because of race. I may identify as non-muslim but I'm not of the non-muslim race of Malaysia. The politicised racial division in Malaysia has developed non-muslim communities i.e. Indian and Chinese to be insular due to their protectionist approach to preserve their own cultural and non-muslim space. I was experiencing anxiety and panic attacks and felt like I was drowning. I was desperate for help and sought social company from friends, family and realised they were not equipped for the help I need. I then sought psychiatric treatment from a local hospital and also reached out to Jimmy hoping it would help. I also started prescribed medication by the psychiatrist which helped with anxiety and panic attacks. This gave me some mental clarity and not be too affected by the drowning feeling of not belonging. I didn't have any clarity on what exactly mentally healthy means, I've always thought I was mentally healthy. During the sessions I had insights into what psychology means and started to see how my brain is wired. Not absolute clarity but it was more of finding what had been subconscious issues I didn't deal with maybe emotionally or psychologically, dig them up and have them addressed. It had been eye-opening and gave me a better idea of what mental health means and where I stand on the mental health spectrum; not as healthy as I've always thought. My challenge has always been to be less emotionally affected by others' emotions and to be more oriented to my own emotions for myself. In a sense, bringing my consciousness more towards myself and my identity rather than myself in relation to others, as how I realize now I've been brought up. I've made great progress and feel more comfortable in my skin and a better understanding of who I am but I also realize that ongoing sessions is likely a solution I need to consider. I’ve learnt to be less negative about how I feel towards my own emotions, in essence, to accord myself more value to myself to be closer to the value I have accorded to others' emotional wellbeing. I did not have high expectations because I know I have some deep-rooted issues from childhood trauma that had caused me great distress for decades and didn't expect them to be resolved by a few sessions. I was amazed to discover that it did help in the few sessions which made me realize, I should have gotten therapy sooner instead of anguishing about it for years. The sessions I've had were amazing and made a difference: How it was fluid and dynamic and dealt with whatever I was dealing with at the moment in time. How my therapist managed to root out something based on what I say and we go down that rabbit hole to pull out the subconscious that I have no awareness to be aware about. The exercises we did that actually made a difference. Sofia from Malaysia. Before starting, I was feeling all alone confused and broken. I felt like life was not worth living. Everywhere seemed to be spinning. I wanted to run and hide but there was nowhere to hide. I was constantly on sleeping pills just so I can pass through the day and not have to go through these feelings that turned me almost crazy.
But after my coaching, I am now able to handle situations better, I have a better understanding of why I feel a certain way and I am able to consider the other person’s feelings and not be too selfish making everything about me. I have come to accept that there are times I will go through difficulties, a phase that will eventually go away. I feel more in control of my emotions and am also able to not let things I can’t control take over me. I worry less about other people’s opinions of me and am even more confident in presenting my authentic self. Communication with my partner has definitely changed. I am more welcoming in our conversation and not too quick to judge, for that reason my partner is able to open up a bit more. And I have never been happier raising my kids. In general I learned to love and accept myself and not beat myself up when things go bad, instead be kind to me, everyone involved and even kinder towards the situation. I have learnt to handle anger nicely that’s for sure. A constant reminder I give myself is this fact that not everyone will accept me and my ways, and that too is ok. There is definitely a sense of peace within me. I am happy I went through this experience exactly the way I went through it and wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you Free hearts Free Minds for coming to my rescue and for an amazing experience. Lubna. Nigeria Updated: Jan 4 Hello!
I'm Ama-Gi from Iraq, and here I share my experience with Free Hearts Free Minds. Before starting my sessions, I wasn't only suicidal, I was, in some sense, manipulative. I would bombard people who care about me with messages about torturing and/or killing myself. Something I tried many times before. I would refuse facing facts about myself, my attitude and my behavior. Now I do not consider suicide as an option. I want to put it simply here; from suicidal thoughts, self-isolation, hatred for everyone and myself, to re-realizing life, re-accepting it as it is, and going back again to the world and starting to make friendships, starting to focus on myself again. I'm at a point where I can't really believe all we have achieved... I'm not totally back yet but I'm more back than I'd hoped for. I hope to continue my therapy one day. Updated: Jan 27, 2021 Being an ExMuslim in Bangladesh is horrible. First your parents stop loving you, family members belittle you, friends make fun of you and insult you. No one appreciated me being an atheist.
I used to feel very down and negative about life. I thought my life was coming to an end. I would get flashbacks of my traumatic experiences. At times I felt like to killing myself and putting an end to the suffering. My mental health was really bad, due to my depression, I wasn't getting better physically. After my sessions with Free Hearts Free Minds, now I'm feeling better. I'm thinking about a bright future. I want to feel like doing something productive. I have a positive mindset to do something with my life, I can't let it go to waste. My mental and physical health are ok and getting better gradually. So many things changed, before I would get anxiety and fear. Now I'm replacing them with positive thoughts. I started seeing possible opportunities whereas few months back I felt like I'm trapped in a dark place. The experience is making me more strong, giving me strength to do something for fellow people like me. Updated: May 25, 2021 I heard about FHFM from a YouTuber when I was searching for LGBT comforting videos. I was feeling extremely tired and severely depressed. I even had dark thoughts and suicidal ideation (I wanted to end my life at 35). To make it brief, my mental state was significantly going downhill. Physically I was fine.
I honestly feel like I was reborn again with a new perspective of life. My depression has got much better and I view life in a more optimistic lens, even though I'm still in a place that would ruin my life or kill me for just being LGBT. Overall, my mental health has improved dramatically. I had issues with regard to asking for help and reconciling my sexual identity. Those are no longer the case, I have fully accepted myself and I gained a new understanding of a couple of things which I had a very bad experience with them. I really liked my experience [in therapy w FHFM] as a whole and I had no problem with it. I only wish I done it earlier in my life. I liked that I didn't feel judged and crazy for voicing my thoughts. I had someone who gave me guidance and encouraged to do better and to be easy on myself when I make any mistake. [The most challenging part of therapy was] talking about my family and my relationship with them. It's hard to think that the people who we call family could kill without a thought or care for the simple fact that you are not straight. It's heartbreaking to realize that fact. Thank you Free Hearts Free Minds, Yasmine, and everyone involved. I'm forever grateful ♥️. |
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