ABC News(NEW YORK) — While many deal with a breakup by eating large amounts of ice cream, those with some extra cash to spend may opt to visit a post-breakup retreat to find healing after a romance ends.
Amy Chan, a relationship columnist, founded the Renew Breakup Bootcamp in upstate New York following her own difficult breakup. She now holds weekend-long retreats that can cost upwards of $1,700, but promises healing for the heartbroken.
“Five years ago … I was dating someone that I thought was going to marry,” Chan told ABC News. “When that relationship fell apart abruptly, I completely fell apart.”
“I tried everything to get better,” she added. “I realized that there needs to be something to help people who are going through this very pivotal stage in their life.”
The program aims to help those suffering from a breakup to move on, and includes sessions lead by a neuroscientist, a psychologist, a life coach and various other activities that are supposed to equip attendees to “detach from the past,” according to the camp’s website.
One attendee, Puneet Grewal, 36, from Vancouver, Canada, told ABC News that she was in an on-and-off relationship for seven years before winding up at the Renew Breakup Bootcamp.
Even five years after the breakup, Grewal said she is still reeling, and has not found a way to move on.
“I find myself still having, you know, painful moments that I wish that I could deal with better,” Grewal said. “And I haven’t found love.”
Grewal signed up for the “Intense Love Life Reboot,” which takes place at a farm in upstate New York. Attendees are asked to disconnect from their digital devices and take part in therapy, yoga and meditation sessions. The camp even features alpaca petting.
The three-day experience was eye-opening, according to Grewal. She said she was left filled with a renewed hope. Grewal added that she is learning to let go of her fear, and even open up her heart up to romance again.
“I think I’m definitely open and ready to find love again,” Grewal said. “I have that confidence. So I’m definitely going to pick a different type of love and the love that I deserve.”
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