​Updated: May 25, 2021

I would like to thank  Yasmine and everyone else who made the  coaching I received possible.  It was really a great experience. Please  accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing feedback.  I have  tried my best to explain my  experience below but I think sometime  words are not enough to explain these feelings and experiences.
 
Before starting my coaching sessions, I was in a state of chaos and  could not see any possibilities. It was like everything was impossible  and I’d already lost a number of good friends, so I was totally  devastated and frustrated.  This affected my physical and  mental health  badly. I was suffering from the issues of breathlessness, mood swings  and Blood pressure problems. A feeling of loneliness and depression. 
 
Digging deep inside me was a sense that there was no hope for the  future. I was so afraid of reaching out to people and making  conversations, afraid of rejection and ostracism, due to my atheism and  religious disbelief. I was feeling hopeless about ever meeting a partner  and was worried about my future.
 
After completing my sessions I felt motivation and encouragement.  The  coaching allowed me to find and accept possibilities, explore  opportunities, overcoming my fears and practice self-acceptance. I am  now motivated to approach life in a different way.
 
I discovered that there were a number of things that I was hiding from  myself and struggling to understand, I avoided discussing them, not even  with myself. But now I’ve understood that life is not limited, one can  be anything one wants and everything is possible as long as the person  is willing to put in the work and do what is needed.
 
The most impacting things that was constantly haunting me was acceptance  by others and what I’ve learned is that I cannot control people and I  should also understand that not everyone will appreciate me for what I  am, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I am imperfect. One needs to get  out of the shell of limiting beliefs and fears, to explore and  experience the beauty of life.
 
These sessions have helped me to improve my mental strength and health and that has positively impacted my physical health.
 
My therapist equipped me with some cognitive tools that I’m continuing  to use everyday and it really brings a smile through my face.  A  wonderful feeling, like enjoying a sunset from the rooftop top of a high  building.
 
For me the best thing about these sessions are:
 
Constantly helped me to understand my inner self and overcoming my fears and weaknesses.
 
To understand the possibilities that I can achieve.

To explore and expand my social circle and know more people.
 
Thank you so much to everyone who made this possible.
 
Ms Unjum, India

​Updated: Jun 1, 2021

I'm very thankful and grateful that I was directed to the coaching  sessions, it really changed my life and my perspective. My mentality was  that I had no control over how I felt and that I was screwed from the  start and would never be able to get over it. But taking these sessions  one by one, every week, with the various techniques we used helped me  look back into myself and my emotions.  It helped me get over the  anxiety and paranoia of how damaged I felt because of my circumstances.
 
I was also able to make goals and achieve them, such as finding and  joining a community of people who share and understand my experiences.  I'm still following all the instructions and points guided to me during  these sessions and they still help me in relieving the negative emotions  in me.
 
I tended to overthink and feel overwhelmed with things that happen in my  life and I guess I let myself get so used to the stress and anxiety  that I became unable to go on with my life.   
 
Ever since I started doing the cognitive techniques I started feeling  more relaxed and more focused on my daily tasks and activities rather  than stressing over them. 
 
Reflecting on what can go right in my near and far future really impacts me positively.
 
Thank you to everyone who helped to make this happen.
 
HY, United Arab Emirates

​Updated: Jun 1, 2021

I wanted to say thank you to you and everyone who contributed to making the coaching sessions happened. The sessions were very good and I couldn’t have asked for more in all honestly.

Before  our sessions started I was in constant fear of failure suffering  heavily from anxiety and depression and having many regrets about my  life. 

Life as an Atheist in Egypt is still pretty hard and sometimes it seems as though there’s little hope but now I can see that there is still hope. The sessions helped me to gain confidence again and to open up and start speaking to people. They helped me to not be afraid of failure and to go after my dreams again. Speaking to you every week helped to encourage me to connect with other people and to open up to them. Reconnecting with people was the biggest benefit I received from the sessions and it reduced my feelings of isolation.

Thank you to you and the team and everyone who contributed.

Abdul, Egypt

​Updated: Feb 28, 2019

​Updated: Feb 28, 2019

Before I started my coaching sessions, I felt defeated. I felt like all  my hard work was for nothing, and no matter what I achieved in life it  wouldn’t mean as much because I wouldn’t have my parent’s validation. I  had always judged my life through the perspective of my parent’s  happiness, but through my coaching sessions I realized that because my  parents were unhappy with their own lives they could never be happy with  me.
 
I used the meditative techniques that my coach thought me  in times of stress and anxiety. I attempt to find time at least once a  day to step away from my work and practice it. I do feel that my brain  has stopped defaulting to “doom and gloom”.
In my conversions with my  coach I have realized that I should learn to accept my parents the way  they are, because then only can I learn to work with them. I must stop  making excuses for their toxic behavior and not be passive with them.

I  have slowly started to feel optimistic and self-reliant again. I have  started to feel that my parents don’t have such a strong hold on me  emotionally anymore. I have the ability to understand behavior (Parents’  perspective) but not excuse it.

My life won’t be spent trying to meet unrealistic expectation for a moving goal post.
My physical health is also better, as a lot of my anxiety would manifest in lack of appetite.
I feel overall positive about the future.  
 
I  have learned to emotionally not get embroiled with my parents and draw  boundaries. I have also learned how to express myself freely, keeping in  mind the difference between “progressive conversations” and “defensive  conversations”. I don’t let guilt eat me alive any longer, because I  understand that this has very little to do with me and everything to do  with who they are.

I feel emotionally equipped to have healthy relationships in the future, and recognize toxic patterns.
 
I  think my coach was perfect and I felt that he had an insight that other  therapists have lacked. He was always willing to listen through and  talk through things. He never dismissed my feelings, and recognized  cultural problems that are common in South Asian households.

​Updated: Jun 1, 2021

Thank you for your help, it was really something I needed, I saw good results in only 6 weeks which is incredible.

Before the sessions I felt that I was hopeless and I was giving up, my anxiety was winning and I didn't do anything to fix that and even the smallest problems made me feel like a total loser.

Today I started to see the cup half full.

I have the tools to fight negative thoughts. I feel happier and stronger and I can see myself having a better life in the future which wasn't the case before. I'm planning to join a gym soon and I focus on having a good diet. I'm mentally stable and it's affecting my physical health in a really good way.

Now I have the courage to improve myself, deal with life and I’m no longer having the loser mentality. I can control my emotions and I keep trying even when I have bad days.

Thanks to the coaching I developed a positive way of thinking and I figured out what was exactly wrong in my life. I want to fix myself, become the best version of myself and remove depressive thoughts from my life.

I developed the will to fight for my happiness, I’m able to see life clearer.

I was lost because I didn't know what was exactly wrong with me and thanks to the coaching, I know what caused my depression/anxiety and I can finally work on solving these problems.

I was excited to do the session every week and talk with you. The sessions were literally mind blowing because of the reactions I had doing the exercises. It was also entertaining and I didn't feel time passing.

It was a pleasure talking to you and I’m really glad and lucky for getting your help. I wish you the best. Thank you to you and everyone at free hearts free minds for making this happen.

​Updated: Jun 1, 2021

A big thank you to you and everyone who made the coaching sessions possible. 

Before the sessions I was feeling depressed, trapped, and hopeless. I  felt as though I have exhausted all my efforts working with what skills I  had and I wanted to do something about it and needed help.  Also, I was  in a state of paranoia about being found out as an Atheist because I  felt like I could not contain my anger and newly developed hatred toward  religion.
 
For a Saudi ex-muslim woman inside Saudi Arabia, life is not much  different out of the faith than within the faith, unless you’re  privileged enough to have access to places where expats or royals  practice their freedoms within the country. You have to fake religiosity  in front of your community and family. For me, I was barely able to get  my parents to accept that I no longer want to wear the niqab (veil). If  I wanted to take the hijab off altogether, I don’t think they would  ever accept it. Every Saudi ex-Muslim woman that I know (through social  media) fakes being Muslim and could never dare to admit atheism to  family members.
 
Since our sessions I am in a much better place. My circumstances have  changed, so now I am not in the same environment that I was in when I  started getting coaching. Now I have more control over my time, and I  have more space away from my family. I am now busy with studying again  and I have developed new online friendships that I keep contact with  everyday. I feel like my mental health has improved. My thoughts now are  focused on future plans toward more independence. 
 
Through the sessions I have learned more how to better communicate and  empathize with my parents (Transactional Analysis). I was also  encouraged to make ex-Muslim friends, which pushed me to do so. I have  joined social media groups for Arab Atheists and we talk and share  news/memes/books daily, which helps me feel less lonely.
 
What I liked best about the sessions was being able to speak without  fear or judgement. I also liked learning about Transactional Analysis.
 
Thank you for everything. It was a pleasure to work with you.
 
M.A. 
 Saudi Arabia

​Updated: Jun 1, 2021

Before embarking on the coaching sessions, I was in a weird space of self-destructive behaviour and self-blame; I was working on fully isolation myself from everything.  My relationship with my family was at the peak of chaos; life was nothing but a grey blank page.  This seemed to be the overall situation of each chapter of my life.  Mentally I think I was depressed, a form of depression at least.  I was also physically weak due to stopping the gym and this was due to not having enough mental strength to do anything. 

 After the 6 coaching sessions I can clearly say that I'm more open to life and feel fresh.  I’m doing my best to engage with my family more and get to understand them from a different perspective; the ways that we explored in our sessions. I have got back to the gym already and that has made me feel even better.  I can say that now I have a spark of hope.  

The sessions helped me to understand how powerful it is in life to develop your own understanding and to be coachable.  I would love to learn more about the techniques you used in the sessions, they were amazing to say the least and I found them very beneficial.

 I loved the feeling that there was someone who would listen and understand what I was going through.  To have someone there each week who was willing to be there and guide you a bit through this grey tunnel during this time in my life. It means a lot to feel that there are some good people around, people who are actually willing to be there for you.  

I can't thank you and all the people who have made the coaching possible enough.  Thank you to you and all of them. 

S.M. Tunisia

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

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 .