Hope for Dystonia
FAITES AMITIÉ AVEC VOTRE SYSTÈME NERVEUX
I have nothing but praise for Fede and his dystonia treatment. Since working with him my benign essential blepharospasm has gone away! It is hard to believe how discouraged I felt just a couple of month ago. I had to stop driving and I didn’t know if I would be able to continue working. I felt like my life was falling apart. I am now back to driving and all the things I couldn’t do with dystonia. I recommend Fede to anyone who mentions they are looking for a therapist because I have worked with many mental health professionals and Fede surpasses them all. Every session he surprises me with how adept he is at getting to the root of the issue. He has a diverse skill set which is necessary for something as complex as dystonia. I had symptoms of a dysregulated nervous system before the full-blown dystonia, such as severe anxiety and now I am working with the tools I’ve learned from Fede to help calm my long-standing symptoms. I am now more understanding of how my nervous system works and what I can do to keep it regulated. Finding Hope for Dystonia is one of the biggest blessings in my life. I will be forever grateful to Fede for doing the hard work of healing his dystonia and sharing his knowledge with others.
Heather W., United States
I'm so thankful for having come across Hope For Dystonia in my quest for spasmodic dysphonia recovery. In less than two months I feel better now than I have in two years of recovery on my own. I feel calmer, more energetic, and have a greater understanding of my symptoms, plus a lot of tools that really help. Fede truly has a gift for making me feel understood (and for meeting me where I'm at) and I always leave the sessions feeling great - and in a way that I can sustain throughout the week in my work and personal life. Highly, highly recommended.
Robin L., United States
There is great hope found in working with Fede through understanding dystonia and finding solutions through the dystonia rather than masking the dystonia symptoms. Fede is a great sounding board of reflection and thought through each individual’s unique experience and he is an incredibly positive and patient partner in finding you wherever you are on your healing journey. He allowed me to believe I could do things I never thought I could, and I did. We are all healing in so many ways no matter what challenges we may be facing, and I can tell you my healing has come full circle since working with Fede both individually and in the Self-Healer’s club.
Dawn A., United States
«J'ai une dystonie du cou et une dysphonie. Avec la méthode que Federico m'a enseignée, la dysphonie s'est considérablement améliorée. Je constate également des améliorations dans mon torticolis spasmodique - plus de stabilité et moins de tremblements. J'aime vraiment l'approche de Federico et apprécie sa patience. Il est toujours disponible pour répondre à mes questions et il s'assure que je comprends notre travail ensemble pour que je puisse être en charge, comme il le dit. Federico utilise beaucoup de petits objets pour aider à la guérison, et j'ai été très inspiré par les nombreuses techniques il utilise pour équilibrer le système nerveux.»
Ran W., Chine
«L'empathie, la compassion et l'intelligence sont les qualités les plus importantes chez Federico; il a la capacité de mettre les gens autour de lui à l'aise et d'inspirer confiance en ce qu'il dit. Le sentiment de présence et pleine conscience qu'il aide à créer est puissant: je me sens - et je sais que les autres me rejoignent - inspiré pour suivre son exemple et être plus présent dans le moment présent, que ce soit dans une conversation avec lui ou dans une séance de yoga ou de méditation qu'il dirige.»
Jeffrey C., États-Unis
Fede is a wonderful teacher. Fede has been through the same condition so his guidance is more important than any neurologist! Fede has patience and passion for what he does.
Roisin B., Ireland
"J’ai subi il y a un an un meulage dentaire sur toutes les dents, hautement iatrogène, qui a totalement déstabilisé mon occlusion. Au delà des conséquences sur les ATMs, cela a provoqué un ensemble de réactions en chaîne, engendrant une multitude de symptômes physiques et neurologiques (dystonie entre autres), douloureux pour la plupart débilitant pour certains, affectant ma motricité et mon système nerveux dans son ensemble. Ce fut comme si mon cerveau ne parvenait plus à faire fonctionner mon corps correctement, à tous les niveaux. Les multiples tentatives de rééquilibration (cales, gouttières, orthotic) n’ont, au mieux pas donné de résultat, au pire complexifié encore plus le problème et engendré d’autres symptômes. J’ai consulté un grand nombre de praticiens (dentistes, orthodontiste, chirurgien maxillofacial, posturologues, rhumatologue, neurologue, podologue, ostéopathes, kinésithérapeutes, psychiatre spécialisé en hypnose…). Si certains m’ont aidé, peu ont été réellement à l’écoute, presque tous ont observé le problème à travers le prisme de leurs seules connaissances / domaine de compétence, aucun n’a vécu l’expérience d’un tel traumatisme qu’est la perte total de l’occlusion pour le tronc cérébral. Dans cette épreuve, j’ai eu la chance de rencontrer Federico il y a quelques mois. Je pense que c’est une des rares personnes à pouvoir prétendre à une compréhension pointue du sujet dans sa globalité. Peut-être est-ce le fait qu’il a lui même souffert de ces troubles durant plusieurs années, en tout cas je constate lors de nos séances de travail qu’il est très pertinent sur l’ensemble des points que nous abordons. Sans occulter les aspects biomécaniques de mes troubles, nous travaillons sur la neuroplasticité, et en particulier via l’éveil des nerfs crâniens, dans le but de créer de nouveaux patterns de fonctionnement. Cette rééducation globale du corps, ou plutôt de la façon dont notre cerveau communique avec notre corps, par une réappropriation de la proprioception et du système nerveux est la méthode qui me donne le plus de résultat, et donc d’espoir face à cette épreuve. L’aspect psychique et énergétique me semble aussi jouer une part importante dans le processus de guérison, tant le traumatisme subi a été violent. L’apport de Federico sur cet aspect, via des méditations guidées mobilisant différentes techniques, est extrêmement bénéfique et efficace, et me semble essentiel."
François M., France
"Comme Federico, je souffre d’un désordre du système nerveux appelé dystonie, un lourd
problème de santé qui impacte tous les aspects de ma vie (personnelle, professionnelle,
sociale...) et de ma personne (physiquement et psychiquement). J’ai commencé à méditer
lorsque ce désordre est survenu: plusieurs amis eux-mêmes méditant m’ont initié à quelques
pratiques aussi bien Vipassana que de tradition Zen.
Jusqu’à récemment, j’avais pu constater un bénéfice psychique après mes séances de
méditation, mais cela était aussi dépendant de la « qualité » de ma méditation, car souvent je
ne parvenais pas à réellement « rentrer » pleinement dans ma méditation, je dirais que dans
ces situations régulières je parvenais à un état méditatif de surface uniquement. Je n’avais pour
autant jamais participé à des séances de méditation guidée.
Depuis plusieurs semaines, Federico me guide dans des méditations qui m’aident à prendre
meilleure conscience de mon système nerveux, ainsi que des liens entre mes émotions et la
santé de ce dernier. A travers des instructions inspirées des traditions de Vipassana et Metta,
Federico m’aide à produire des changements positifs, visibles et surprenants dans le
fonctionnement de mon système nerveux.
Tout d’abord le fait d’être guidé par la voix de Federico me permet de rentrer bien plus
facilement dans un état méditatif « profond » (par opposition à l’état méditatif de surface), et,
pour la première fois depuis que je pratique la méditation, j’ai observé des changements
physiques très nets, procurant une sensation d’éveil de tout un côté de mon corps, modifiant
pour le meilleur mon équilibre corporel. Je savais que la méditation pouvait avoir des effets
physiologiques très bénéfiques, je savais aussi qu’il ne fallait pas pratiquer la méditation dans
un but corporel premier, je constate en tout cas que la méditation guidée dans le travail que
nous faisons avec Federico me permet d’explorer un tout autre aspect de la méditation,
beaucoup plus profond, et ayant des bénéfices sur tous les plans. Même les séances d’hypnose
que je pratique régulièrement ne m’avaient pas permis d’obtenir ces effets.
Sur la base de mon travail avec Federico, je le recommande sans hésitation.»
Antoine L., France
Just a few examples of feedback from clients in text and email exchanges
Psilocybin for dystonia case report excerpts
I am a 34 year old man. I do not have a formal dystonia diagnosis. I never sought one out because it’s a useless pursuit, as I’m not interested in the available therapies that don’t address the root cause of the problem. I do, however, suffer from spasms in many different parts of my body. They are particularly strong in my head and neck, around my lower spine, pelvic area and inner legs. They are painful, and cause a myriad of other symptoms, including hyperacusis and strong intestinal dysmotility: I have a hard time having normal bowel movements because everything is so strongly contracted in my belly area. My symptoms are very debilitating. They prevent me from living a normal life, and have forced me to leave my career in music.
It all was unleashed in 2019 when a dentist shaved down (shortened) my teeth in order to, supposedly, help with the cervical pain I was suffering from at the time. A series of neuromuscular compensations started immediately thereafter, and I have tried to find my way back ever since.
I began microdosing while carefully working to balance my cranial nerves under the guidance of my health coach who, himself, made incredible progress with these techniques. I immediately noticed that I was much better able to feel the patterns of how my brain was inhabiting my body and how my occlusion was impacting the spasms. In other words, my interoception was immediately potentiated. I was also better able to feel what I could do to have access to the spasms and release them: change my occlusal balance with appliances and other tools, place my tongue differently, breathe differently, speak differently etc. I was thrilled!
I later safely and carefully explored somewhat higher doses, always with lots of preparation, integration and support. These experiences gave me access to my body in ways that just wouldn’t have been possible without the mushrooms. I could release spasms, awaken hypotonic pathways, and create new, more functional patterns in the body. All of this would be unthinkable with the existing tools of Western medicine. And I know what I am talking about as I have been around the block!
Another front on which the mushrooms greatly helped is the psychological one, and especially its somatic manifestations. When my life was suddenly upended by that dental intervention four years ago, I was confronted with lots of depression, anxiety and plain old grief. Much of this showed up as more tension in the body, lots of resistance, and catastrophic thinking. I wanted to resolve everything immediately, and whenever I was unable to do so, I would feel like a failure and become even more depressed.
During the mushroom trips I was able to realize that much of that thinking was, as my coach says, ‘real but not true’. I was able to soften more and more around these thoughts and avoid creating more tension for myself. I could, instead, welcome the pain and hold it compassionately. I was less afraid of the unknown, and I could accept the journey of healing in front of me. I could surrender more, all the while working hard on my recovery.
I was also able to reach the ‘blockages’ in the neuromuscular system where old trauma was stored, and I increasingly learned to release it. This embodied, psycho-emotional aspect of my healing continues to be of fundamental importance. I am now much more aware and lucid around the whole recovery project, and much less caught up in catastrophizing thought patterns. Here too, the guidance I received was precious.
It is important for me to emphasize that these experiences were always had with lots of support from my coach in terms of preparation and integration. None of this would have happened in this way without this support. Mushrooms simply cannot be taken casually and expect these results; what's more, one risks being retraumatized.
In conclusion, psilocybin mushrooms have been a fantastic tool of nervous system exploration for me, and have allowed me to reach states of neuromuscular homeostasis that would have otherwise been impossible. They have also helped me embark on an invaluable journey of psycho-emotional healing. The next steps for me now are to work on stabilizing the neuro-muscular progress I can accomplish with the mushrooms by further correcting my occlusion and cranial strains.
(Anonymous)
I am a 45 year-old woman. I was diagnosed with dystonia about 8 years ago, and have been getting botox shots for about that time. Botox has worked fairly well, but I've been warned that there's a good chance that botox will eventually stop working so I decided a couple of years ago to start trying alternate therapy and to start microdosing in order to get off my prescription antidepressants. Since microdosing I've kept up daily meditative practices as well as online and book dystonia recovery programs - and while I improved a lot, I wasn't able to get to the point where I felt I could stop botox while keeping up my work and other commitments.
Enter Hope for Dystonia :-). I feel very lucky to have found this program - I truly believe it has given me the additional push that I needed for recovery. I now have the tools that I need to identify the parts of my body that are under-activated, and specifically on microdosing days I found it much easier to activate and maintain activation of those pathways. In less than two months, I've started being able to wink, and move my nose, lips and cheeks with much better control on my hypotonic side. I'm standing straighter (and even got taller), and have been able to "feel into" parts of my body that had previously been difficult to feel, even after several months of trying. Additionally, the nutritional guidance and the mindfulness aspects have come together in a way that I feel better in my body than I have in years, possibly decades!
Compared to the two years prior that I spent, these changes I've had in two months have been huge. I believe in my case that microdosing combined with targeted coaching to work on my specific issues was precisely what I needed in order to get over my recovery "hump".
(Anonymous)