“My skin was crawling. I was sick to my stomach all the time and my whole body felt like it was shocking me.”
That’s how “Aaron*” described the debilitating and tortuous months when he was so engulfed by the flames of sudden-onset anxiety that he couldn’t sleep, stopped eating, and shut out everything and everyone he cared about.
After doctors – and medications – couldn’t help, he found his way to the Center for Brain Training. That’s where, after three months of training sessions, he says he was back to his sociable old self “100 percent.”
Scary news prompts downward spiral
Aaron describes himself as always being “extremely happy.” “My friends say I’m the happiest, most appreciative person they’ve ever met,” he said.
That all changed without warning when Aaron had a medical scare this past August. By the time the scare was cleared up Aaron had lapsed into a dangerous and unrelenting emotional and physical downward spiral that didn’t go away with the good news.
“On a scale of 1-10 my anxiety was a 10,” Aaron explained. “It was horrendous. I couldn’t think clearly. I hated being in my house alone, especially at night and especially in the dark. I couldn’t drive. I couldn’t eat. I lost 30 pounds in five weeks. I slept only two or three hours a week, and I didn’t want to see anybody.”
Shutting out the world
Shutting out everyone and stopping socializing was an unmistakable sign that something was profoundly wrong. A master host and entertainer, Aaron’s home is Party Central among his friends. He normally decks out his home and grounds in ultra-festive style each holiday season and hosts a half dozen Christmas parties, beginning on November 1.
Not that year.
Despite loving Christmas, he didn’t even put up a tree. Instead he stayed holed up inside all by himself watching “mindless” TV shows, avoiding the annual heartwarming Christmas movies that he usually looks forward to watching.
“It was scary. I didn’t know what to do,” he recalled. “The anxiety had robbed me of my joy.”
No help from his doctor
Aaron eventually went to his family physician who gave him sleep medication that didn’t work. He had no remedy to help Aaron’s appetite or anxiety and suggested he see a psychiatrist.
Aaron decided that instead of going to a psychiatrist right away he’d check out the services at the Center for Brain Training which he had heard about from a co-worker.
Skeptical but desperate enough to try “anything”
“I didn’t believe in that stuff and figured I was wasting my time and money,” Aaron said, “but I was desperate and willing to try anything.”
He began doing sessions on the BioReg machine and experienced improvement after the first one. After seven or eight sessions his sleep and appetite had improved significantly and he was functioning considerably better. However, he continued having trouble dealing with the darkness and being alone.
“I still had no joy in my life,” he noted, “and I wasn’t back to 100 percent.”
A disastrous experience with an anti-depressant
Anxious to do something to speed up to a return to normalcy, Aaron discontinued his sessions and went to see a psychiatrist who prescribed Lexapro, an anti-depressant.
“That turned out to be an absolute disaster,” Aaron recalled. “My anxiety went right back up to a 10 on the third day of taking the Lexapro. I couldn’t eat or sleep. It was a complete relapse. By the sixth day I was crawling out of my skin again and was in bad shape.
Return “in tears” to the Center for Brain Training
“I stopped taking the Lexapro and returned to the Center for Brain Training – in tears. I told Mike (Cohen**) that he was my only hope.”
In addition to doing the BioReg Mike had Aaron do some neurofeedback sessions and suggested he start taking CBD oil. That combination worked. Within two weeks, Aaron noted, he was “100% back to normal.” “I was shocked that it worked so well,” he recounted.
“I appreciate the professionalism at the Center for Brain Training,” continued Aaron. “They gave me several options and listened to what I had to say. Carolyn (Cohen**) was wonderful, too. She was very comforting. The whole crew there is great.
“I am back and my joy is back. I’m traveling again and having parties. Now I can go on enjoying my life.”
*Name changed to protect confidentiality.
**The Center for Brain Training’s director
***Co-owner of the Center for Brain Training