Blake turned over in bed. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. What would he do with his day, he wondered. Ever since his business failed…scratch that…ever since HE failed…his sense of purpose had evaporated. He had been humiliated by the death of his business. And worse than that, he’d been disillusioned. He had believed in what he was doing, and what his work could do to help people. His excitement had fueled his resolve, and he tended to spring out of bed every day eager for what would unfold. But after working at it tirelessly for seven years, it was devastating to watch it wither slowly until his clientele dried up and disappeared. He was burned out. He had fought panic and tried everything to infuse new life into his marketing, his client relationships, his products. To no avail. And now he couldn’t find the least bit of interest in trying to discover what’s next in his life. He’d failed. And he had forgotten how to care, how to motivate himself, or to do anything. His feelings of failure made it impossible to enjoy anything. Not even the colors of a sunset or the fragrance of a flower. Blake had forgotten how to enjoy. Period.
Failure and shame go hand in hand. He’d held his head high as he’d jetted around the country to meet with clients, check on customer service, and contribute to new breakthrough launches. But there came a point when interest in his services and products seemed to dry up. Wither…
And all his scrambling to save all he’d worked for, and all those who relied on him, had turned out to be futile.
He felt ignorant. Foolish. Inept.
How could he face people he knew?
Honestly, Blake wondered if there was any reason to even get out of bed most days.
Any reason at all.
But every day he stayed holed up in his apartment, just confirmed his overall failure. His worthlessness. It was impossible to enjoy anything, everything…whatever he could think of.
His mom texted him. But he made up some excuse.
HIs brother called, but he didn’t want to answer. He just didn’t feel like it. And he didn’t care what his brother thought of him. The days of trying to fulfill other people’s expectations were gone. Nothing mattered anymore. And that seemed sad, but it was just the way it was. He couldn’t help it.
He even got messages and emails from friends he’d made in the business. Ideas they had about how to revive the business.Their ideas were too little too late. They didn’t have the experience he had with the marketplace, and lacked the scope of perspective he’d developed through it all. They didn’t realize he’d already tried those things, and had seen just more failure.
Blake scanned the internet looking for possible jobs. He needed income from somewhere. But he just was so mentally dull and flat. The creativity that was surging when he started his business was gone. Blank. So he didn’t know if he could actually do much of a job. He didn’t feel very employable. Everything was impossible to enjoy or do.
And the energy he would need to for interviews, not to mention the horrid phobias that had emerged: fear and dread of leaving the house, of facing people, of going into new places… how could he overcome all that to find a job?
Months went by. The more time that passed, the more isolated he was… by his own doing. But it was taking a toll.
Blake was shut down — even locked down — emotionally.
Time to RESET
He needed to be able to push a button so he could reboot in some way. Where was the Reset Button in his life?
He was still trying to find a job, as his savings were dwindling. The longer he stayed cooped up in his place, the worse he felt. He began to feel panic rising inside him … that if he didn’t find a way to break out of this ‘state’ he was in, he might just die here.
After hours scanning the internet, Blake decided to break out of this isolation and contact his brother. He sent him a text and told him he needed to talk to someone…that the walls were closing in on him. It was hard to make contact. He didn’t enjoy it, but it was impossible to enjoy anything, anyway. It was still important. He had to do it.
His brother, Jared, was so pleased to hear from him. He invited him to come over, or he would be glad to come to Blake’s apartment.
Blake got himself into the shower, as hard as it was, and made himself clean up. Why was this so hard? He was overwhelmed at trying to clean up the mess of his house so he said he could go to Jared’s. That was better. He drove to Jared’s house and knocked on the door.
Jared wrapped his arms around his brother and hugged him gently but firmly. It was such a relief to see Blake reaching out. But for Blake, he was just going through the motions. He wished he could connect with Jared, but it was impossible to feel or enjoy anything at this point.
They talked for hours about Blake’s business, what happened, and what it was like to deal with the failure of it all. They also talked about the effect this long isolation and grief had had on Blake. Jared told his brother how much he had missed him. And suggested they put their heads together to find what might help Blake move forward again.
Brothers Search for Answers
As hours fled by, they explored employment, how to get help for the failure Blake felt, and what his lack of energy and fears might mean. He needed to function again!
Side by side, they scanned the internet for answers and realized that Blake seemed to have the symptoms of depression, and that maybe his fear and dread were signs of phobias. They learned that anxiety, fear, and phobias do sometimes accompany depression.
Beyond this, they soon hit a wall. They could see he had symptoms, and that the symptoms may be treatable, but realized he needed a doctor to take it from there. So they searched for a psychiatrist in their community with great reviews. It seemed the best way to learn what a doctor might be like was to read what his own patients had to say about him.
They settled on one whose reviews were, for the most part, amazing. There seemed to be one or two reviewers who complained, but all the rest were overwhelmed with the doctor’s attentiveness, willingness to listen, and symptom relief.
So Blake made an appointment.
Jared cleared his schedule for that day so he could go with him for moral support.
The doctor diagnosed major depressive disorder, and talked about possible medications. Then sent Blake home with a couple prescriptions, an antidepressant and something to ensure he could sleep.
After a couple months, the antidepressant wasn’t working, so Blake called the new doctor to talk about ketogenic psychiatry and what might help him improve. Something just had to give. It was still impossible to enjoy absolutely anything.
He felt like he was wasting his life.
After scheduling a consultation appointment, Blake went to see her. She took a thorough history, including his symptoms when they started, and what he had felt like when he was his best self. Then she explained ketogenic psychiatry, and what a ketogenic diet leading to therapeutic nutritional ketosis, could do for him.
Blake felt better and better, and in the days and weeks that followed he just kept improving. His hope was growing as he realized his creativity was returning, his energy was returning, and his thinking was clearing up more and more.
Within a couple weeks, he interviewed for a job that he thought he was well suited for, and was hired. Soon he was back at work, contributing in meetings, creating new ideas, and making friends.
Brothers Bond
He made a pact with Jared that they would meet for dinner one night a week, to keep rebuilding their relationship and to talk about obstacles they both faced. They also went together to visit their mom, and committed to do it more often.
Blake wanted to build a healthier infrastructure in his life to combat the isolation that had gotten him into so much trouble. And Jared saw the benefit for both of them in doing that.
Blake also started seeing a therapist to help him untangle the feelings of failure and worthlessness that plagued him after his business ended. He was feeling more resilient since starting the ketogenic diet, but wanted to improve the way he looked at his life to guard against that type of thinking in the future.
And he moved forward in his life with a combination of confidence and humility — recognizing that he was human, and capable of so much. He made the decision to be a learner in life, instead of a perfectionist. And he learned about exercise and a ketogenic diet that actually would help his psychiatric health. He committed, also, to being his own best friend… instead of the cruel judge he had been.
And these steps will help you, too.
Within the realm of everything we offer in psychiatry, therapeutic nutritional ketosis and exercise could make all the difference for you, if it’s impossible for you to enjoy what you used to enjoy.
If you suffer from the kinds of symptoms Blake did, call us.
We have opened another another avenue for you with Metabolic Psychiatry. We can help you discover how to eat and move and enjoy so that you kick up your brain energy, correct your metabolism, shrink your body fat, and get back to your best self.
There is so much to psychiatric illness, but there is also so much more you can do to be healthy again.
We’re here to help you get there.
To the restoration of your best self,
