Years ago, a difficult time in Anne’s life led to panic attacks so severe she had to be hospitalized. For years, she struggled with managing her subsequent depression and anxiety with little success and resulting in hopelessness and suicidal tendencies. Then she found Truehope. Today, she feels incredible, fortunate, blessed, calm, centred, stable, and whole.
For most of my life, I have been a stable and happy person. Even though I’ve dealt with alcohol addiction, an intensely physical and emotionally abusive relationship, infertility, and other stressful life events, I’ve been able to stay focused on my goals and priorities and maintain a happy, fulfilling professional and personal life.
It all changed in the summer of 2000. There was an extremely difficult and fear-filled event in my family that caused my stress level to explode and my lung to collapse for the first of 10 times. The experience mimicked a heart attack accompanied by severe panic. I lay in the emergency room trying to tell the doctors how stressed out I was. I am sure my eyes were practically bulging out of my head. They seemed not to understand the correlation between the stress and my physical condition.
Thus began the beginning of my severe depression and anxiety disorder. For the next few years, I tried both Lexapro and Effexor, and then Xanax. The anti-depressants helped for a very short time.
After about 6 months on each medication, I felt desperately hopeless and suicidal. I cried myself to sleep at night and woke crying in the middle of the night. I had never experienced anything like this and was incredibly frightened. The panic attacks were coming more and more frequently. They made me feel jittery and intensely uncomfortable. I began to dread them. I couldn’t sleep and woke often sweating and having night terrors. My entire body would malfunction. I felt so totally out of control. I couldn’t stand it.
I tried Xanax, which helped relax me. I ended up taking it 3 times a day to stay ahead of the attacks. Once again, after a few months, I had another breakdown, feeling lost, desperate, and hopeless. I decided to stop all medications. I realized they just weren’t good for me.
At the same time, a friend told me about Truehope and how it had helped him with his severe schizophrenia. I decided to try it after reading all the literature and talking to my physician, therapist, and husband.
I called Truehope after submitting my history. The support person was so friendly and sympathetic. She seemed to know my situation so well and was so confident that Truehope could help. So I placed my order for EMPowerplus and began the healing journey April 2007. Used, fluttery, shaky, insecure, manic, teary, agitated, dizzy, afraid, sad, anti-social, foggy-brained, and a tightness in my chest are just a few symptoms from that time.
Today, after 17 months on Truehope, I feel incredible, fortunate, and blessed to have found a natural way to heal my emotional and physical life. I have regained my sense of humor. I feel calm and centered. My world is once again stable and whole. My future seems bright and I love life again.
—Anne Klein