Women’s stories

“I had been suffering from burn-out for a long time...”

At age 66, Eileen wondered if we could truly help her. She’d been under extreme stress for many years, and had severe caregiver burn-out when she came to us. Now relieved for the most part from caregiving duties, Eileen is living on her own and rejuvenating her life. This has allowed her to follow her path of preaching and teaching, but she found she was having a hard time keeping up — even thinking clearly. Six weeks ago she started the Personal Program, and within a few days noticed a difference. Now she’s sleeping better and has lots more energy. Avoiding conventional medicine and using only herbs, vitamins, and homeopathy for 45 years now, she says what’s different about us is our balanced approach.

“I have been suffering from burn-out for a long time, and especially this year. I had been involved in many natural ways of trying to help myself for many, many years. I don’t use allopathic drugs at all — not for 45 years now (unless they force it on me — ha!). I was searching the web and came across your website inadvertently. I started reading and at first I thought, Well, this is for younger women. I’m 66. But then I began to read more and saw that your particular program is very balanced. And I don’t usually jump into things quickly. I only try to apply things that have been set as standards. I read for quite a while, and read a lot of things, and it really made sense to me.

“What I liked about the Program was that it wasn’t ‘just’ an herbal remedy, it has a nutritional approach as well, so I figured it was pretty balanced. And it wasn’t long at all before I noticed a difference. Just a few days, actually. And I believe it was because of the herbs. I really do. I also need additional fish oil, so I also take that. I wasn’t depressed, exactly, but I had this dull feeling, and it lifted some of that dull sensation of depression. That is gone. That is totally gone. I’m finding I have a lot more energy.

“Plus, you do have quite an extensive library. Your articles are extensive and very good. That established credibility for me. There is useful information about adrenal fatigue and the thyroid, for example, and because I’ve been suffering from burn-out, I know my health has been affected in that regard.

“Many, many years ago, when I first was premenopausal, I was using progesterone, and I was doing it rectally, because that was the only way I could get it by prescription in those days. And it soothed things a little bit. I also tried black cohosh, homeopathy, and all kinds of other things. While one single thing would work for a little while, it was never complete enough — that is, it didn’t last. I have to say, using Herbal Equilibrium for the past six weeks, I find it to be quite good. Even though I’m older, and I don’t think I need as much as a younger woman might.

“I also like the comments from other women — reading all the Women’s Stories. I did search for the chronological ages of these women, and that helped me, too. Otherwise, I may not have tried this, because I was rather dubious about whether, at my age, I should partake of something like this. But then I said to myself, Hey, I want to feel better! I had great fatigue, and I was feeling... it wasn’t a deep depression. It was like an apathy. I didn’t have a zest for living. I was still going through the motions of living, but not enjoying it. I was burned out. My friends were telling me that I was burned out. I’m still recovering.

“I haven’t taken conventional medicines for 45 years. I don’t use any drugs at all... well, once when I was just stepping into menopause and was under a great deal of stress, my gynecologist reluctantly put me on Premarin, and I was only on it a couple weeks, because I started to get pains in my legs. I said, ‘Forget this!’ It wasn’t for me — it really was not right for me! I tried different herbal remedies and homeopathic remedies over the years, just to kind of alleviate the symptoms, but nothing that was steady the way this is.

“I have a girlfriend, 58, who is also on the Program now. She and her husband were feeling very tired. Now they’re eating better, feeling stronger. Her husband, too. They like the dietary approach, and so do I. It’s a balanced kind of eating. And I’ve done everything — from macrobiotic to vegan — to feel better. Nothing is going to be ‘the perfect diet’ for everyone, but this is enjoyable, and it works for me.

“Let me tell you, when I first started applying the Nutritional Guidelines — that book is so beneficial — I was having so much fun with it, I gained a little weight — more than I wanted to! (I’m 5’-9” and weigh 150 pounds.) But that’s because I was eating a little more butter than I should. I still have a tendency to want to eat more I have to. So I watch myself a little. I’ve never had a weight problem in my entire life, but I’m having so much fun with it! I believe it will work for me, I just have to balance it out for myself.

“I do still have fatigue, and I still have a tendency to want to have coffee. I just ordered Adrenal Fatigue, because I feel that’s a problem for me. I was a caregiver for so many years, and it was a long time that I was stressed. My son was in a car accident at a very early age and had multiple skull fractures. He’s 41 now, but he’s still on my list. He’s still relying on me in many ways. And then my husband — this sounds like a soap opera — but later in life, my husband lost his eyesight, and he was an accountant, so he couldn’t work anymore. And then my mother she became… well, she had no physical problems, and lived to be 88, but she acquired dementia, most likely Alzheimer’s. And that was a ten-year downhill slide. She lived with my sister, but I was involved in her care and going over there a lot. In the meantime, my husband was dying, and that was a long downhill process. I definitely had caregiver burn-out. My husband died six years ago, but I’m also left with financial stress.

“People say that I’m looking better now. And my friend can’t get over it — the one who’s on the Program too. We’re both feeling stronger, with more energy throughout the day. I’m doing more things, starting to become interested in more things again. I do feel that it has helped with the burn-out. This is what I needed to balance ME.

“I believe we each have to learn to balance everything. Not just the sugar and the starch, but everything. Back in the 1960’s they used to call us ‘health food addicts,’ and in those days, a health food store — I lived in Greenwich Village — was really a HEALTH-FOOD-STORE! Oh, the bins of grains and nuts, the raw yogurts, and the greens… fantastic — it was fantastic! Now it’s getting to be such a big business, taking advantage of everyone. Back then, I was on my way to opening a restaurant in Woodstock. We were going to serve boardinghouse-style cooking, and pick people up at the station in a horse and wagon… ah, but that’s getting off on a tangent.

“Now, I live in a little house in the woods with a woodstove… I’m not sure why, but I just didn’t succumb to the whole materialistic thing. I think for me, it just had a lot to do with circumstances, my son being so sick and everything. I’m kind of glad I didn’t. I’m still sitting here in my cabin in my bare feet. I’ve found the purpose of life and peace. Some day we’ll all get back to the earth and live the way we should. In the meantime, this has been an answer to a prayer — if I can be that presumptuous — that I might have the wisdom to take care of myself.”

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Last Modified Date: 05/26/2011