“I am writing this to express my gratitude to everyone at The Option Institute.  One year ago I attended a one-week program.  I came with a failing marriage, fibrocystic breast disease and battling depression like I’d never experienced before.  I felt like I was reaching for a life preserver in an ocean of high waves.  I left feeling like I could walk on water.

Now, almost a year later, my life has definitely changed.  My marriage is more honest and accepting than it has ever been.  The lumps in my breast are smaller and, at times, totally gone.  The scar from the surgery (I had to remove a lump six months before coming to The Institute) had healed outwardly, but was constantly sore and large under the skin.  When I dressed the morning I left The Option Institute, it was the first time it didn’t hurt to raise my arm.

As for depression, I can’t think of any reason why I would choose to feel that way again.  I experience life fully now; I don’t just live it.

I’ve even started my own business!  But the greatest miracle for me is that I really like myself.  This is a new experience and it feels too wonderful for words!  Thank you for teaching me to be good to myself.  Thank you for helping me see that there is nothing wrong with me.  Thank you for showing me that happiness is a choice.  The Option Institute helped me find a way of living that I’d dreamed of, but believed was impossible.”

-Debbie Watehall-Gates, Bookstore Proprietor, Texas