Freedom from stress + worry
After suffering from anxiety for two decades, Jen Sullivan discovered a special kind of therapy that instantly turned her panic into peace
Jen Sullivan sat in her bedroom with tears streaming down her face, her mind and heart racing. I can’t do this anymore, the Warrenville, Illinois, 46-yearold agonized. I feel like my life is crashing down around me.
Although Jen had experienced anxiety since college, it had ramped up exponentially in the fall of 2018. An increased workload at her job as a school counselor, coupled with tackling her responsibilities at home, had left Jen drowning in worry and struggling to keep up with everything. For months, she’d kept her anxious feelings inside, not even sharing them with her husband…until now. “I need help,” she wept to him. With her husband’s support, Jen took a leave of absence from her job, and in addition to seeing a therapist and taking medication, she began an anxiety treatment program. There, she learned mindfulness techniques that helped her stay focused on the present, instead of letting her worries consume her. But three weeks later, while
she no longer felt like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Jen’s anxiety was still wreaking havoc on her life. She had constant tension in her jaw and back and suffered from headaches and insomnia. Her relationships with her family were strained, and she was still unable to return to work full-time. There must be something else that I can do to feel better, Jen despaired.
Peace at last
Then, this past January, Jen read an article about a former firefighter in her community who opened a “salt cave,” a spa-like room where the walls are covered with Himalayan salt rocks and filled with dim rock salt lamps. Jen learned that the salt emits negative ions, which are absorbed by the body and rev energy, improve sleep, reduce tension, support hormone balance and adrenal function, regulate blood pressure —and best of all, increase serotonin in the brain to relieve stress and anxiety. The typical cost was $30 for a 45-minute session, but since the salt cave was offering a special discount package on Groupon, Jen decided it was worth a shot.
When she arrived, Jen sat in a zero-gravity reclining chair, which evenly distributed her weight to relieve muscle tension, and put on noise-cancelling headphones so all she could hear was the soothing ocean wave sounds playing in the background.
As she took deep breaths and quieted her mind, Jen felt instantly relaxed, and her anxiety melted away. This is amazing! she marveled. And she was even more in awe of how she felt the calming effects for days after.
Jen continued going for sessions three to four times a week. And as her anxiety diminished, she was soon putting in full workweeks and able to successfully manage her responsibilities on the job and at home. Eventually, her doctor was even able to reduce her anti-anxiety medication!
Today, Jen still visits the salt cave once a week. “It’s my ‘me time,’” she says. “The salt cave is a simple remedy that has had lasting effects on my anxiety and made me a happier wife, mom and co-worker. I’m so grateful. Now I tell everyone I know to go too—it truly works!” —Julie Revelant
“Salt therapy lowers inflammation to tame the body’s stress response” —Tania Elliott, M.D.