"For nearly 20 years of my life, the giants of depression and anxiety defined a large part of my existence.“Major recurrent depressive” and “anxious” were more descriptive of me than “hopeful” and “trusting”. For nearly 20 years these “giants” defined a large part of my life.

At an early age, after several years of increasing anxiety and panic attacks, I became more and more depressed, which led to trouble sleeping. At the age of 13, we finally went to the family doctor who prescribed Zyprexa, an anti-depressant. For the next 16 years, I went from one drug to the next and at times was taking several medications at once. In 2007, after a major emotional breakdown, I went to see a new psychiatrist for about 20 minutes. I was prescribed two benzos. I was prescribed Klonopin three times a day. A second benzo was also prescribed (Alprazolam) to take as needed for severe anxiety or panic attacks.

Most times after starting a new drug, I found temporary relief. However, it never fixed the problem or healed me. If anything, it made matters worse. As time went on, I realized my memory was suffering as well as my mental focus and clarity. I was often low in energy and frequently woke up with headaches and low-grade nausea. As a result, I was frequently late to work or absent altogether.

A few of my siblings encouraged me to try a different approach; and finally, in 2017, I started on a strict anti-inflammatory diet and closely watched my intake balance of carbs and proteins. My sister also got me started on taking Daily Essential Nutrients. After about a year of this, I started very gradually tapering off my benzos, which was the only drug I was still taking. The initial tapering went better than expected with few side effects. After about six months of gradually decreasing my medication, I stopped taking it altogether.

As I found out, however, withdrawal symptoms can be delayed for up to a year after coming off of psychiatric drugs. Thinking that I was okay, I stopped taking Daily Essential Nutrients. I was only taking Vitamin D and a few miscellaneous supplements. On top of that, I quit watching my diet very closely. I started having trouble sleeping and finally after three months of interrupted or no sleep I couldn’t take it anymore. I was battling depression, extreme anxiety, feeling hopeless and helpless. At the worst of it, I just wanted to die. Several days after I quit going to work to try and find some help and get on top of things again, I had a major psychotic episode where I went into a manic state and tore a room apart. From there it got even worse. My anxiety increased to crippling proportions. I wasn’t even comfortable being by myself for more than a few moments a lot of the time. Sleep became almost non-existent and every hour was a dreadful battle to stay sane. I was taken to the ER twice in desperation and was sent home both times with no solutions other than taking more medication. By this point, my wonderful wife and I had moved in with my brother-in-law and her parents were keeping our three kids at their house. 

My sister convinced me to start taking Daily Essential Nutrients again and got me started on Hardy's Amino Acids as well. With her experience with medications and knowledge of Hardy products, she guided me in what to take and how much; but also urged me to call and talk with a Hardy Nutritionals Product Specialist. My sister had received wonderful support from them in the past and finally convinced me to do the same. I am extremely grateful to God and my family for leading me in that direction! While I am thankful for their science-backed supplements, what I am most grateful for is Hardy's staff of people who genuinely care and have the compassion to walk alongside thousands of people each year who go through this harrowing journey. The staff's compassion and guidance were a key part of God’s plan to bring wholeness back into my life.

A Product Specialist at Hardy Nutritionals quickly picked up on my gut health issue and gradually got me started on Greens & Probiotics. This was a great help in bringing my gut and bowel function back to normal. After she thoroughly understood my health history and was working with me for a while, she also had me start on Inositol and Choline to help with the extreme anxiety I was battling. While they were not a silver bullet, they were really helpful in giving support to my overstressed and depleted body. In addition to this, the Product Specialist directed me in taking high doses of Vitamin C when my withdrawal symptoms spiked. This was extremely helpful in reducing and helping me pull through the withdrawal symptoms such as panic attacks, weird tingling and burning sensations, and headaches. The staff's knowledge of what I was experiencing and what to do for it was amazing. In addition to their helpful guidance in how much supplement to take and when to take it, they offered incredible moral and emotional support.

I am also extremely indebted to and grateful for my wife, who was unspeakably courageous and determined to see me through all this. She has been and continues to be a wonderful blessing in my life.

I am writing this almost exactly a year later, now a humbled and grateful father of twins! Despite the extra stress and loss of sleep that goes with caring for two babies at once, I am back to working full time as an active marketing manager at a busy, fast-paced company, being an involved father of five young children and a pastor in our local church."

- Stephan, Hardy Nutritionals customer

About Hardy Nutritionals®

Hardy Nutritionals® multivitamin-mineral products are powered by our proprietary NutraTek™ mineral delivery technology, which combines each mineral with specialized organic molecules—just like nature—to optimize absorption and distribution to body cells. Our flagship supplement, Daily Essential Nutrients, is widely considered to be the most research-backed micronutrient treatment.