Mary’s Story- Living Vs Surviving

My name is Mary.*

I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for 23 years. Before coming to Serenity, I felt like I tried every treatment under the sun for years with very little success. My depression had risen to a point that it was affecting my ability to do even the most basic tasks. Getting out of bed, taking a shower, personal hygiene and interacting with other people were all incredibly overwhelming to me, and at times I didn’t have the motivation to do them at all. My body physically ached and I felt drained of all energy.

After my husband and I moved to Colorado, I was looking for a new psychiatrist and found Serenity. When I came to Serenity the doctor recommended TMS treatment. I had tried TMS before at another practice but with little success. However, Serenity offered a more effective TMS treatment than what I had experienced previously so I decided I didn’t have anything to lose.

Serenity really stood out to me even from the first experience because everybody I interacted with at the clinic was kind, understanding, and seemed happy to be there. Normally, regardless of specialty, you don’t think of the doctor’s office as a nice place to go, and normally there’s at least one person who seems cranky. But at Serenity, I’ve never had a bad experience with anyone. You can tell they truly care and they want to be there. It’s a night and day difference from other psychiatrists I’ve been to.

The TMS treatment itself felt like a tapping to me. For the first couple weeks it was slightly uncomfortable, but definitely tolerable. As time progressed, it became less uncomfortable and more like just a light tapping on the side of my head. Probably my least favorite part is that the machine is a little loud, so it can be hard to hear the TMS tech while talking to each other during the session. Even though I wouldn’t go do TMS for fun, it’s definitely been a positive treatment experience and the results I have seen have been phenomenal.

After going through TMS, I actually want to go do things again, and I have the energy to do them! Before my treatment at Serenity, I didn’t get out of bed some days. Now I want to engage with my friends and family again, I’m able to be productive at work and at home, I can contribute to my family in a way I couldn’t before, and my relationships with my loved ones and myself have improved drastically. Enjoying life again has been incredible to me.

To anyone struggling with depression and anxiety: no matter what you’re going through, don’t give up. There is hope, and there are treatments that can work for you if you hang on. There are people, like the people at Serenity, who care and will work with you to find the treatment plan you need to get better. For me, it’s absolutely been a life changer.

*Name changed at patient request