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My Supernatural Review

Image of Supernatural game from player POV.

I will start my Supernatural review by sharing the many ways Supernatural affected my life. Supernatural:

  • Assisted me in kicking a 20-year-plus heroin addictions ass and assists me daily in my recovery.
  • The best alternative to inpatient treatment that I have ever been able to find for myself.
  • Taken my attention off social media.
  • Helped me to lose almost 80 lbs. of baby weight in a brief time with no other changes (Despite a hypothyroidism diagnosis.) 
  • Helped me find self-confidence that I never knew I had. 
  • Lowered my extremely high blood pressure (no more blood pressure meds.) 
  • Seriously reduced my addiction to online shopping. 
  • Assisted me in building muscle in places I did not know muscle could be. 
  • Seriously increased energy levels. 
  • No more depression. (No More Meds.) 
  • Improved range of motion and flexibility.
  • Improved levels of anxiety. (No Meds.) 
  • A workout that I hardly consider a workout.  
  • Helped me build a life I am proud of.
  • Increased circulation everywhere. 
  • Helped me meet amazing people in the Supernatural community.
  • My kids think I am cool cause I am a big bad “boxer” (and I am.)  

You may be wondering how a “video game” could do so many wonderful things for me. You may be a bit skeptical or disbelieving? I promise you that Supernatural has done all the above for me and much more.  Supernatural can and will deliver. Let me explain. 

I am 6.5 years sober after being addicted to heroin since I was 14 years old. I hated myself, as most of us tend to do when suffering from substance use disorder (SUD). That self-hatred leads to some sort of addiction more times than not. I always felt like I was wearing a skin suit that was about five sizes too small. Heroin took that away. It felt like the home I had always imagined I had growing up. 

I got pregnant with my daughter at the age of thirty-five. Suddenly it wasn’t about me anymore, and to me, that mattered. We stopped using drugs that day. I removed myself from the place where I had been selling drugs. I traded up for a nice bed at a homeless shelter. Pat (my SO and baby daddy) and I worked our way up out of there. We purchased our home a few short years later, and when I was thirty-nine, I had my son.  

During my late-in-life pregnancies and after, my weight got out of control. Five months into my pregnancy, I was arrested for sales that happened seven months prior to me changing my life. I did manage to be released two weeks before I had my daughter, and I was gigantic.   

I got pregnant with my daughter at the age of thirty-five, and suddenly it wasn’t about me anymore.

Suffering from hypothyroidism can make it difficult for me to lose weight. Spending so much time in “finishing school” can cause seriously unhealthy weight gain. I would get out, and about the time I would start losing weight, I was right back in. (Sidenote: Finishing school is my alternative term for jail that I have been using since as far back as I can remember.)  

I hadn’t lost very much before I realized I was pregnant with my son. I tried everything. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I thought I would never lose weight. I also can’t stand any type or organized movement. Workouts are something most “thick” girls don’t care to partake in. I really didn’t want to partake. When I say I tried everything, I should also mention that I tried everything unhealthy. i.e., Diet pills, diet pills, and more diet pills. (Btw, they never worked.) 

Crypto Gaming Token Curiosity

I had been investing in crypto for a couple of years. I had gotten very curious to learn more about gaming tokens (i.e., The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Decentraland). The best way I could see to do that was to buy an Oculus Quest 2. (Affiliate Link. See disclosure above.) I purchased two, one for myself and one for Pat. People tend to hear about virtual reality and just think it would be super expensive. It’s not as much as you might think. You can even buy used on Offer Up for as low as $150. I love that you can take it anywhere. You can use it as long as you have a phone with service or Wi-Fi connection. 

The first time I put on my headset and saw all these weird-shaped balls flying at my head at what seemed like an extremely high rate of speed, I immediately took it off. I told my SO (significant other) and my neighbor that I could never think of mastering anything like that. I believed it at the time too. Not even close. 

Targets getting smashed in VR Oculus Quest 2 Supernatural fitness game

 

This is a screenshot of the targets after I smashed them on the Oculus Quest 2’s Supernatural in VR

Soon I began thinking about it for self-defense purposes. I had always been a fighter when I was younger. It was an outlet for me as a child right up until drugs became my outlet. I have been known to throw myself around a mosh pit with the best of them. Man, I miss that shit. It’s a cold, harsh world out there. I have children. Then I figured I should know how to tear it up or just get a refresher on throwing punches. 

Sick of having all the weight on, I decided to try it when no one was around to see me. I can admit I was insecure about how I might look while learning. I was hooked after my first session and could have cared less after that.

The Coaches

The coaches are amazing, and they seriously helped me find my confidence. All those mini pep-talks from Scott Hahari, Dwana Olson, Doc. (Antonio Harrison), Leanne Pedante, Raneir Pollard, and new coach Mindy Lai (these are the ones I have encountered while boxing.) These coaches are actual lifesavers. They did for me what nothing had ever been successful doing in my entire life, including drugs. I have never personally met any of them, but as crazy as it sounds, they are my best friends. 

Finally, Being Built Back Up

My entire life, I have been torn down by the people around me. Living in a small town and being the first home raided for a drug like heroin made me the worst thing out there. People aren’t educated about these things, especially back then. I was a young girl that lived a nightmare for a childhood and simply needed someone to believe in me. I deal with stigma daily, even now, almost seven years sober.

These things have left me with extraordinarily little self-confidence. Throw in a criminal background and many gaps in my employment history, and I was working with zero self-confidence, self-love, and self-worth.  

Clarity

Supernatural helped me gain clarity. Soon after I started getting these pep talks, I came to the realization that all of those that tore me down were simply trying to build themselves up. I love them, and I forgive them. Supernatural has helped me forgive them. During the workouts on Supernatural, these coaches are repeatedly telling you that you are worth it. That you can do it. That you will rise above. To focus on right here and right now, etc.

Being one that is constantly tearing myself down through my internal dialect, I would throw the coaches an eye roll, sometimes a mental eye roll, because you cannot take your eyes off those targets. If you do, they suddenly begin smashing you in the face, and even though it is just VR, it can be quite shocking and hilarious to anyone watching. Not as bad as the first time you punch yourself in the face or incorrectly estimate the distance between yourself and the nearest large object. (This is why the Supernatural Workout Mat is ESSENTIAL. It has two positioning knobs that you can feel with your feet to ensure room awareness, direction, and safety.)

Supernatural has helped me forgive them.

These coaches tell you that you are kicking ass and taking names workout after workout. This just sparked something inside that was completely foreign to me. A spark of a feeling that I had never known before. They sparked a tiny bit of self-confidence, and after that… Forget about it! Self-confidence is a wonderful feeling! Woooo-weee! What I had been missing! I will forever love every single one of them for every single spark they lit within me. That spark is now a full-on growing fire shooting off sparks of its own.  

I keep at it every night. As someone who has always hated any organized movement. I was suddenly tracking my fitness. The weight was falling off me. This is not your typical workout. You are actively engaging in self-care. This word that we, Moms, and those of us in recovery do not know but always want to know. You are doing something for yourself.

A Supportive Significant Other

I am lucky enough that my SO has been so supportive from the gate. He gives the kids baths and whatever needs to be done early so I can get to bed earlier. I have an incredibly happy hope that you will be lucky enough to have that. Pat never saw Supernatural as a “video game.” He knew better. He knew that if I did not do something about the weight, then I wouldn’t be around to see our children grow.  It really was a matter of life and death.

I started my routine with Supernatural in May of 2022, and I did and do work out every night. Unfortunately, some nights I don’t get to it until after midnight. This makes it look as though I missed a day when I haven’t. Surprisingly, it is enough that I know that. Some nights I do 20-30 minutes, and others, I do up to 60-80 minutes. Starting off, I got hot and sweaty. I brought a big box fan out on the patio, and with time I wasn’t soaking myself. Sometimes I will jump in the pool after. It’s winter in Vermont now, one of the mildest we have ever had. I purchased a Hampton Bay Outdoor Patio Heater from Amazon. Now I can still go out back and do my Supernatural workout. I do sometimes stay inside when it’s cold out, though.

I have lost a little over eighty pounds in about 9 months.

Having lost a little over eighty-plus pounds in about nine months, which is almost nine pounds per month! If you know anything about hypothyroidism, then you know this is not easy, and I didn’t change my eating habits, but I am not a huge junk foodie either. Simply created new happy and healthy habits, and Pat, along with M&M (my Mikaiyah & Malyckai), were about the best cheerleaders a mom could ever ask for. I could not let them down now, could I? 

Supernatural lunge bar and uppercut targets flying towards me in 3D VR and in 360 degrees

 

This is a screenshot of a lunge bar and an uppercut coming at me at high rates of speed. Depending on the position of the lunge and duck bars, you lunge towards the left or right and squat for the duck bar. You can tell which way to punch the targets based on the way they are facing.

This is what led me to finally believe in myself enough to quit smoking. The self-confidence and increased mental health and mindset that I have gained with Supernatural, and my daughter simply saying, “Mommy, can you please quit smoking so you can see me be six?” That was it. Pat and I smoked our last cigarette two days later and have not smoked since. I could have never done that without both Supernatural and Mikaiyah. It went down that way for a reason, always does. Love you, Uni (universe)! 

It’s Catchy

Friends have called me a “helper” of people. Being an empath who loves people, I cannot stand to see another living organism suffer in any way. I have helped people for as long as I can remember. I REALLY help people now. With self-confidence, I help them light their spark from my fire, and I just know that they will be OK. I guess you could say it is catchy. 

Let me tell you how Supernatural helps me deal with issues in my recovery from substances daily. Whether you’re in recovery, know someone who is in recovery, or if you just have bad days. Then you have those moments where things could potentially shift from bad to worse. Seems that I have a lot of these minutes throughout the day, and I do a kind of grin and bear it. I get through them because I know that I can go home, and after I deal with my crazy kids and rack up a few more of those moments, I get to put them to bed and run to my back patio with my headset in one hand and my awesome Spring Bellabeat smart water bottle in the other. It really makes me want to drink water. That I have had for two months and already broken twice; I can also be a breaker of things.

Melting away the negativity

I know that whether I am boxing, flowing, or meditating when my workout is done, all the stigma and ignorance of the day will begin to melt away with each punch I throw. You have no idea what this means to me. I have an extremely high-stress job. People’s lives are on the line, including custody of their children, their freedom, etc. I am expected to be a robot with no feelings or attachments instead of the empath that I actually am. This may sound crazy, but Supernatural has really helped me step up my coaching game and bring it to the next level. I have always been a great coach, but now I am a freaking phenomenal coach. I know this to be true (thank you, self-confidence.)

Not to mention

I am floored by all the improvements that have occurred in my life because of my daily use of Supernatural. As I stated above, I have been able to stop taking my blood pressure medicine, anti-depressant, and pain medication. I regained the full use of my hands due to lack of circulation. Throwing all those punches has really been great for my circulation. I spend much less time shopping on Amazon and perusing social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram. I have increased cognitive function and better focus. Do not ask me how that is possible with my severe ADHD and executive function issues, but that’s what has happened. 

The best part is that my kids (M&M) think I am the coolest. They love watching and copying everything mom does. Supernatural has saved my life, and I just wish there were a way that I could give back to them. This is my attempt, but should they ever need me or my Supernatural expertise/powers, they just need to ask. 

In Conclusion

I think people struggling with SUD and those in short or long-term recovery could use Supernatural as a coping mechanism, just as I have. Cravings are a tough thing to get through, especially when you are having them for all the right reasons. Supernatural is my craving buster, and as I will repeatedly report, it’s many other things for me too. I mean- This was the first blog article I wrote.

The last thing I will mention is the amazing community that Supernatural supports and that supports Supernatural. I have never seen a more encouraging, motivated, motivating, and diverse community of individuals. We are all head over heels for Supernatural. Those of us that have been around know the meaning behind the name Supernatural because it’s what we have become. 

If you like this post, check out another post I have about the benefits of meditation in recovery here.

Post Off Quote

“Never… Give… Up…”

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Every day my recovery helps me get stronger and stronger! 

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I am in no way making any kind of promise in regard to the results you will see individually from using Oculus Quest 2. I am reporting the many positive results that I have experienced with my Oculus Quest 2. Your results are your responsibility. Please play safely!

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2 responses to “My Supernatural Experience: A Supernatural Review”

  1. uniquerochardolson Avatar

    Wow! I can’t stop reading ur posts! This one is truly inspiring for me. I struggled with anorexia for many years and every day still has struggle. I need something like this! If it can do thos for you then I can too. Where do I get an Occulis 2? Ho much? Probably really expensive right?

    1. Samantha Bushika Avatar

      I am so sorry to hear that. This is an issue that a lot of the women I was incarcerated with struggled with. Absolutely heart-breaking for such amazing and beautiful women to have such self-images. (1 moment pause in reverence of those struggling).
      If I were someone looking for an Occ Quest 2 I would check out Offer Up or Mercari. I purchase a lot of my electronics of offer up for unbeatable prices. My advice would be to start throwing out offers. Start low. Take ur time and see what happens. I have found them for under $200 on Offer Up when I was helping a client find one. Good luck!

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