Brooke’s Breakthrough: “I Got My Brain Back”

For nine long years, Brooke felt like a shadow in her own life. She was 42 years old, living in Utah, and raising her kids all while quietly carrying a massive weight on her shoulders. Anxiety and depression had settled into every part of her world. “I just felt empty all the time,” she said. “I was tired all the time. My body hurt. I don’t think I was a very good mom to my kids.”

Honesty like that is hard to ignore, especially if you’re someone suffering from a similar condition. Brooke’s story echoes what so many people feel but struggle to say out loud. Living with depression doesn’t just affect your mood; it changes how you move, how you think, and how connected you feel to the people around you. “I’ve always felt like I was missing from my own life,” she said. “Like I wasn’t able to participate in it.”

For Brooke, like so many others, everything changed the day she found Serenity Mental Health Centers.

TMS and Ketamine: Brooke’s First Step Toward Feeling Again

Brooke began treatment with TMS therapy and ketamine sessions at Serenity, and her life started to shift in ways she hadn’t thought were possible.

“From day one of TMS, it was spectacular,” she said. “It was the best thing.”

TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) is a medication-free, FDA-approved treatment for depression and anxiety. It uses gentle magnetic pulses to wake up areas of the brain that have gone quiet due to depression, without medication, sedation, or downtime.

For someone like Brooke, who had lived in a mental fog for nearly a decade, the effects were immediate and life-changing. “My brain works,” she said, holding back tears. “It’s doing things I thought were lost.”

By Brooke’s third day of treatment, she felt the difference. “I woke up and was like, ‘I’m gonna clean the bathroom today.’ And I could. And it didn’t wear me out.”

That’s the power of treating depression at its source, and physically reactivating the brain’s ability to function. For Brooke, that meant finding motivation, joy, and energy again.

Her Family Noticed It Too

As Brooke continued her TMS sessions, the changes didn’t stop. She wasn’t the only one noticing the difference. “My family has noticed a massive change in me,” she said. “I tell them how normal I feel. How I feel like my brain is just working the way it’s supposed to work.”

For the first time in nearly a decade, Brooke felt present. She didn’t feel like she was missing, not numbed out, but present in her own life. Her healing didn’t just stop with her. It inspired her to share the experience with her children.

A Legacy of Healing

After seeing such profound results, Brooke brought her kids to Serenity not just to show them what healing looks like, but to help them believe that change is possible.

“I want to bring my kids so they can see that if something isn’t working in your life, you can do something about it. You can be proactive. You can fix it.” She even jokes about how her kids reacted to the TMS device. “They’re like, ‘Alright, okay, this is interesting. Mom’s got a helmet like we do at football.’”

At Serenity, we believe mental health treatment should never carry shame. It should be seen as courageous, proactive, and empowering. Brooke is living proof of that.

TMS Therapy: “The Most Amazing Thing Ever”

Brooke’s love for TMS therapy is infectious. She’s become a voice of encouragement for others who feel stuck in depression or anxiety. “I have been so amazingly impressed with TMS. I have loved every minute of it. I have told as many people as I can about it and how amazing this is.” For Brooke, TMS didn’t just help her cope; it helped her heal.

“To allow a machine to tap your brain to help you feel better is the most amazing thing ever,” she said. “I think it’s incredible. I love it so much.” While TMS helped her brain find balance again, it was the ketamine therapy that helped lift the fog even further.

Ketamine Therapy: A Companion in Recovery

At Serenity, we use ketamine therapy to help patients experiencing severe or treatment-resistant depression. For Brooke, ketamine gave her a sense of peace and released a reset button when everything had felt stuck.

Though she speaks more about her TMS experience, ketamine therapy played a key role in her healing. For patients whose depression feels immovable or too dark to face, ketamine can offer a breakthrough, sometimes within hours of treatment.

We use low-dose, medically supervised ketamine infusions tailored to each individual’s needs, with emotional support and structured gratitude practices available every step of the way. For Brooke, this two-fold approach was the combination that finally brought her back to life.

A New Chapter and a New Mindset

Brooke isn’t missing from her life anymore. She’s in it. She’s leading by example, showing her children that when things feel broken, you don’t have to stay stuck. There is help. There is healing. “I feel normal,” she said again. “I didn’t know I could feel like this again.”

You Don’t Have to Live in the Dark

If you relate to Brooke; if you’ve felt missing from your own life, or like your brain is no longer working the way it used to, please know you’re not alone. More importantly: you’re not out of options.

At Serenity Mental Health Centers, we treat depression, anxiety, and treatment-resistant symptoms like Brooke dealt with by implementing cutting-edge tools like TMS therapy and ketamine therapy. We’ve helped thousands of people like Brooke find their way back to joy, clarity, and connection.

Reach out to us today or click to schedule your consultation. You don’t have to wait to take back your life!