Hi Everyone,

Thank you in advanced for your input. Hope my writing is not too lengthy. Greatly appreciated.

What I need to heal? Mental and Nervous Disequilibrium (i.e fatigue, panic attacks, insomnia, depression, heavy cognitive decline, very poor working memory, other related issues) consequence of underlying behavioral/personality patterns and 2.5 years of irresponsible psychedelics use (heavy cannabis, weekend drinking, 4-5 times psilocybin, several times "synthetic weed" -only drug I wish I never did-). I am computer scientist (graduated 3 years ago) and only managed to work for 6 months before having to quit due to this situation. As you can imagine my life has been shattered.

What I have already done? For 4+ years I felt in the trap of western psychiatry. 35+ different medications, Hospitalizations, ECT, TMS, 14-15 psychiatrist, 20+ psychologist. Obviously none of that accomplished much but a profound dent in my pocket and kept me from making real progress.

After being incredibly frustrated with Allopathy I embarked on the natural healing journey. Have been Vegan for 1.5 years, running 5-6 miles daily,(6) 5-7 day juice cleanses, (2) 15 day juice cleanses, (1) 20 day Water Fast six months ago, Raw Vegan for the last 3 months, countless herbs concoctions, massage therapy, meditation etc.

I have accomplish a lot, lost 70 pounds, detox a lot of crap, no longer dependent on prescription meds, overall health has improved. All my symptoms experienced some degree of betterment, yet not to the point where I can function somewhere near normality.

Primary question is the following:

I have an upcoming 30-day Water Fasting retreat (5 weeks from today) and want to prepare as diligently as possible in order to "deepen' the experience and hopefully my body has the chance to heal profoundly. I have already been on a Raw Vegan -80% High Water Content Fruit- diet for 3 months and have done 2 colonics. I can see how this is helping as I have encounter many detox symptoms including severe fatigue (the kind of fatigue you sort of get the first days of a fast or juice cleanse) and lack of hunger.

Would it be OK to perform 2-3 "short fasts" (4-7 days, given I allow equal amount of days to refeeding) as I prepare for my prolonged fast? Should I continue the colonics? Will this help deepen the 30 day experience? Would I be "getting ahead" by detoxing garbage that I won't have to deal with during the 30-day fast? Could I risk getting "depleted"?

If not, what would you suggest proper preparation entails?

I'm male, 27 y/o, 168 lbs. I feel pretty strong and have the experience to manage the short fast relatively easily.

Have read Ehret, Shelton, Purinton and have seen some vague references to shorter fast weeks or days right before a prolonged one. Nothing concrete though.

I am only pondering this because I feel the calling to fast at the moment. Fatigue, no hunger, detox reactions of all sorts.

Thank you!!