What Our Clients Say...about Reverse Therapy

If you have tried other approaches with limited success, or if you have only just been diagnosed, then give Reverse Therapy a go. If it worked for me then it can work for anyone. Mrs BB, Newbury
Reverse Therapy has totally changed the way I live now. I now focus on the things I want to do first and then the things I need to do about it second. I have more energy and am able to keep up with my kids. I have found new interests and hobbies and have even started cycling (a few months ago I couldn't even push a bike up the garden path!). Reverse Therapy is life changing. Ms SC Yorkshire
Reverse Therapy has been fantastic for me - as if someone has opened up my life for me to enjoy again. I am thoroughly satisfied with all that I have learnt from the sessions. I find it incredible that there is someone out there who can teach people how to get well so directly, easily and quickly. WOW! Ms LB Dorset
From three years in bed to being able to grab life - what more can I say!! The toughest journey In have ever made and I really didn't believe it was possible but my therapist did, thank goodness. And if I can do this then so can you! Ms AE Avon
I am one of the biggest sceptics I know but something in me said 'try it' and now I've got my life back. I am getting stronger and stronger on my way back to full health and see where my bliss takes me. Thank you. Ms MR Dorset
But doing practically nothing was awful. I stopped going out, and so started to isolate myself too. My boyfriend was very loving and supportive the whole time, but very worried and exhausted as he was working full time and doing everything in the house (which I felt very guilty about). I kept looking and I found an article about Reverse Therapy that struck a chord. I booked an appointment with John Eaton, read his book, and started to feel quite excited because I thought it all made so much sense.
I was startled to hear John telling me to do MORE!! To stop napping, but to do something restful instead - perhaps yoga, a gentle walk, read a magazine, talk to someone I trust. And to start doing things I really enjoy. At that point I realise nothing seemed to make me really laugh any more, when did I get so serious?? I had a serious sense of humour failure. I was to get a balance every single day of yes, things I had to do (damn it, no escaping from the chores), and very importantly - don't do anything for too long - perhaps an hour. This was a revelation. I would study all day, or sit at my lap top for 5 hours straight working. I actually couldn't think of fun things - I haven't got time for fun!
And John taught me about the difference between Headmind and Bodymind. It fitted so well with what I was studying and beginning to practice as a trainee counsellor, but I felt I was comically inadept at recognising in myself how powerfully my Headmind controlled me. To me it was obvious - I was upset because I'd become useless. I had to be useful, clever, get good grades, be a good counsellor, organise a perfect wedding, be a good stepmother, not offend anyone or get in their way, do as I'm told... the list went on. John calls these bananas - which makes more sense when you read his book. I laugh at it now.
I learned how to use my symptoms to understand what was going on - here's a fairly typical scenario: Friends visited us in our flat, gorgeous sunny day, we cook lunch, plan things to do, what a lovely prospect.... all of a sudden the symptoms come on. In Reverse Therapy I was trained to make observations on what to do next:
The situation - friends around, fun things to do - sudden overwhelming distress
What feelings were there (anxiety, in this case)
What Headmind was saying to me ('I can't cope', 'I'm useless', 'everyone is funnier and more interesting than me').
What messages my Body was sending me through the symptoms ('give yourself more time', slow down', 'take a break', etc)
It took me months but I was resolute. I made a pack of cards, different colours for: restful activities, fun stuff, exercise, seeing friends, things I have to do, and so on. I picked a few cards a day. Of course because I think I have to be so damn productive I kept picking far too many cards every day and not managing everything!! Haha. I saw John once a fortnight to begin with, then once a month or so, the trip to London in itself did me good. Through John I learned to stop analysing my anxiety - to take action and move away from what was triggering it. Lately I've realised how scared I am of anxiety, and the fear and resistance themselves were paradoxically bringing on the panic. Oh dear!
I handed my notice in at work - a really positive step in fact as it was a job I had been preparing to leave for some time. We pared down our wedding to an evening do. I took a break from Counselling work. I did gentle exercise, and started to make myself socialise in nice small groups. I took a deep breath and told a bully in my life to back off. I had regular massages and treatments to help balance energy channels, I ate really well and took magnesium supplements. I slowly started to feel better. The wedding was magical, the honeymoon was gorgeous. Returning from honeymoon, I noticed I'd had no symptoms for weeks!
Four months on, I feel good. I'm happily married, we laugh all the time. We're having a baby this summer. I recently qualified as a Counsellor and started to work again. I go to yoga classes and nice walks. I read and read and read. I've learned to cook. Mrs RZ Brighton
Hi John. Three years ago I visited you with CFS, and got better very quickly after a couple of visits. I just wanted to say that my life has been so different since then. Not only am I better from that illness but have a whole new attitude to illness and health, stress and living to the full. Looking back on my whole life I often had a week off work with what I would call a ‘virus’ but had no specific symptoms except tiredness and maybe a head ache that doctors always diagnosed as sinusitis! I realise now that they were Chronic Fatigue Syndrome bouts and since seeing you I have never had another one of those again. In fact I have hardly been ill in 3 years.
I used to wonder why, when people had a cold it would last 1 or 2 days and they would be carrying on with life as normal, mine used to always last a week and put me in bed. Again I just carry on through colds now and hardly notice them! I also have never had sinusitis in the last three years! This year I have run my first half marathon amongst many other things.
Thank you and I hope all your work is going well. I always say to people, I owe my recovery 100% to God, 90% to Dr John Eaton and 10% to the film Mama Mia!!! Mrs SA London
So, what’s been happening since I had my last Reverse Therapy session? Health-wise things have improved massively to the point where I talk about being ill in the past tense and feel I no longer have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I am now much more aware of my body and pay attention to creating a balance between Headmind and Bodymind. Whenever things get out of kilter I just go back to basics: listening to Bodymind and acting on what it’s telling you. I don’t always get it right and there are times when Headmind seems to dominate, but I do feel I have the right knowledge to get to where I want to be. I’m learning to more readily accept all emotions and to know they are part of life rather than trying to push the more difficult ones away! This morning I went for a run in my first pair of running shoes, which I’m really excited about. The impetus for running came about when I was ill with CFS and I’m now running twice a week.
After finishing the RT sessions I started to do yoga every day. I had previously done yoga for about five years (prior to getting Chronic Fatigue) and so had a good foundation. I just followed the poses that came to mind rather than following a specific programme. After a few months I bumped into a yoga teacher friend of mine and he told me of a workshop he’d been to with a yoga teacher from the Iyengar School in India. He sent me the series of poses that had been part of a remedial programme for people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and - amazingly - about 90% of them were the ones I was doing based on what I felt my body wanted me to do. This experience confirmed to me the body’s intelligence and how it knows what it needs; since this experience I’ve encountered it again many times - that my body directs me towards yoga poses that are right for how I feel at that moment. I think beforehand I’d ignored my Bodymind even to the extent of when I felt cold I didn’t get another jumper to put on, but thought that I should just put up with it or wondered why other people around me weren’t feeling cold! And so with using Reverse Therapy every day, I slowly improved, learning how to be myself.
I’ve found that doing physical things or things which connect me to my body are really beneficial, especially as my job is pretty much focused on the cerebral. Each morning I go for a walk before starting work and try to take a walk or do some movement if I have deadlines to meet and have spent hours at the computer. A book I’d recommend is Body Stories: A Guide to Experiential Anatomy by Andrea Olsen which comprises 31 chapters to follow about the body – the anatomy, how the body works, the nervous system, reflexes, emotions, movement patterns, all sorts of things – and each chapter includes you having to do movements or drawings as a way of connecting to the body. (I’m also hoping to do Alexander Technique at some point.)
I’ve also starting writing, and one of my stories is going to be published. This has opened up something new for me that started when I had CFS but which I’ve now made more part of my life. I’m also applying for some part-time jobs to complement my freelance work.
What else can I say, except that Reverse Therapy worked for me. The thing I like about it is that it provides a way of doing things which works beyond Chronic Fatigue and M.E and if you follow its principles you’ll get where you want to be. So thank you for working it all out and for continuing with your blog to post interesting, amusing and engaging things that make people think. Ms. ED Bedfordshire
Dear John. I hope this note finds you well. I realized that I have never given you a proper thank you for helping me with my Chronic Fatigue symptoms. Part of the reason I did not write earlier is I didn't know if my cessation of symptoms was temporary or a permanent state. I think I can say now with confidence that is a permanent cure. I am about 95% symptom free and have been for many months now. In May I visited a friend in the UK, something that I would not have the energy to do before talking to you and undergoing the Reverse Therapy treatment. In addition, I have resumed a rigorous weight lifting routine another thing that I would never have been able to due prior to our conversations. Lastly, I had my very first flying lesson last week. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for helping me get my life back after suffering for four years with chronic fatigue. I have a renewed vigor for life and a confidence that I have not had in a long time. I am even performing better at work and my boss has taken notice. My only problem now is finding time for all the new and exciting things that I want to do and see in life. But that is a problem I am happy to have! Again thank you for everything you have done for me, I am truly in your debt. I wish you all the best and hope you are able to help many others like myself with your methods. Mr DH Boston
Dear Dr Eaton. Since I saw you three months ago I have been feeling much better, I did all my GCSEs with much less pressure on myself and revised mostly without problems. I had a few days with low moments, mostly due to being unprepared for the exam, however it was dealt with by me and mum together revising and going over it, making me realise that I actually knew more than I thought. I got my results on Thursday and got two Bs and the rest were As and A*s which I was so pleased and after taking all the pressure off it was much better than what I was expecting.
Everything I do with my friends is absolutely fine. I have spent a lot of time with the people who I get on with over the summer and I have stopped worrying about other people. I have just got back from Reading Festival where all my friends commented on how calm and relaxed I was!
I have started to get back into swimming again and although it is slow I am feeling better and when I have a bad session both my coach and I know to let me get out before it gets worse and then come back when I'm feeling better. My next competition is in November so I should be fitter by then. But if not I just know to get back in the pool and train and not to go into meltdown.
I have tried to do something with every day of my summer holidays so I don’t get bored as I know that made things worse last time, which so far has worked. We went on a well needed family holiday in Egypt at the beginning of the summer which was relaxing and gave me a break from everything.
I am also trying to do some sort of physical activity each day which makes me tired by the time I come to go to bed. Sleeping is getting better, and most the time once I’m asleep I don’t wake up till the morning, as long as there is no stress on my mind and I can relax which is often helped by your tape which I sometimes listen to in bed just before going to sleep.
So I am going into year 12 next week, and I realise that the work gets so much harder but after the summer and the successful GCSE results I think I feel as prepared as I can be. I am certainly not ill any more.
So thank you so much for all the sessions that you did with me, again very sorry for not emailing sooner, but everything that you did with me has helped and the change in me has been noticed by so many people.
Thanks again. Miss AB Hampshire.
Dear Dr. Eaton. This is a long overdue email to let you know how I am getting on. Since my 3 sessions with you last year I have been doing really well. My symptoms disappeared very quickly, except for the sore throat which lingered, and still returns occasionally when I have done a lot of activity. It is wonderful to feel well, I am going to the gym and starting to get fit, and able to do a lot more of the things on my list. I'm still practising elements of the therapy, though probably not as regularly as I should!
Thanks so much for your help and all the very best. Mrs OW Wiltshire
Dear John. Just want you to know that the hyper state and heart racing I informed you about after my session with you, was due to too much Levothryoxin. As you stated in your book or blog, ME/CFS can easily be mixed up with thyroid problems and I was on a high dose. After my session with you, I simply did not need this large amount. I gradually reduced the dose and symptoms of hyper and heart racing and banging gradually reduced and am now on the minimum dose only. All other various body ailments I had, have also vanished. I suspect these were brought on by too much thyroid medication. I and my GP are monitoring this and will do a blood test in August.
I feel great, the best in 20 years, and as I previously stated, knowing that the many deaths in my family does not affect me, and your permission for me to cry, unlocked the cause. I have since our last session managed to do many things I couldn't cope with before, mental and physical, and have been dealing with many workmen, delivery people and events that would have bought me to my knees previously. They have no affect on me, I have no migraines, headaches, fatigue, stomach problems and the rest. Fears regarding finance and dealing with bills, are also not affecting me at all.
Many thanks, I have a new life back and makes such a difference. I feel so different, as if a shroud over me has been lifted (and think I look different too). I had forgotten what it was like to be symptom free. I'm aiming to increase the meditation and attend the Meditation centre regularly. Also find it necessary to keep reading your book and website/newsletters to reinforce what I am learning and experiencing.
All the best. Ms. LH Brighton
I developed ME in 2003 which seemed to be triggered by a bad cold that never fully went away. I became basically bed bound/sofa bound. After one year of having the ME I also developed Fibromyalgia which gradually went away after 2.5 years for reasons unknown. However the ME remained. With much time and rest the ME improved somewhat - with me being able to tolerate a short walk most days - however, for two further years my health made no further improvement and I was unable to increase my exercise level at all without my health going backwards.
During my years of having ME I also developed major depression and anxiety issues. To an extent these existed prior to the ME - however they became much more pronounced while having the ME. As well as trying some different medications for this, I also had ECT for the depression - which did actually help. I also had some tuition in Cognitive-Behavior Therapy which I found helped my depression and anxiety issues.
However, despite being a help for my depression, the CBT made no difference to the ME - which continued the same. I'd actually got my local library to order a copy of your book on ME and Reverse Therapy at one stage. I read it but didn't really understand it. About a year later, through a curious set of circumstances - some of which is a bit of a blur now, I felt very much led back to looking into Reverse Therapy again. I found your book again, re-read it - and this time understood it. This was just over a year ago.
At the time here in New Zealand, seeing a Reverse Therapist wasn't really practical for me. So I started trying to apply the principles in your book myself. It took a lot of work and trial and error. There was something about the whole idea of Reverse Therapy that sat right for me though This inner conviction and the fact that I'd basically tried everything else for my ME and had been ill for 8 years meant I was desperate. So I kept at it. Over time, gradually, things all started to make sense in relation to Reverse Therapy. Progress happened bit by bit and I dealt with things issue by issue. I changed my approach also as I went along - as it became clear what was and what wasn't working, and also as my insight increased.
I could say more, but I feel I've said plenty in this email already. It has basically taken me just over a year to apply the principles of your therapy and get to the stage where I can say the ME symptoms are now gone and I am now rebuilding my life. Mr SC. New Zealand
Last autumn I was lucky to get a copy of your first book (in Norwegian), and had the amazing experience of finding a tool leading to practically immediate recovery from a long lasting fatigue problem. And as I noticed your encouragement to give feedback on the case of recovery from just reading your book, I decided to write to you. However; the process needed some time to get me to the actual point of writing… In the meantime, I have also read the latest book “Reverse Therapy for Health”, and enjoying that book too.
So, during the months since reading your first book, the process have turned into even more inspiration and increased interest in the methods you teach, also as I saw the close connection to the wide-spread movement towards Mindfulness in therapy . As I experienced the practical use and impact of the principles in Reverse Therapy in my own situation, I realised this to be a very powerful and practical tool for transforming this awareness into an everyday practical solution. And not only as a “remedy” for those being very ill, but as a general, basic understanding of self and how your body works. Furthermore, the extensive reference to scientific research in your books makes this a most outstanding and valid method – and in that respect a contrast to many less scientific alternatives and “New Age” kind of approaches. You can definitely get through to the very “down to earth” practically and “action-oriented” people with the principles of Reverse Therapy, also those who regard themselves too rational to consider listening to “emotional business”.
Anyway, many people find approaches like mindfulness and similar to be fascinating, but a bit “abstract” and find it hard to relate to these techniques in everyday life and health, as other approaches don’t give you a practical understanding in the way Reverse Therapy does. I’ve been through a lot of awareness techniques, meditation and so on, still none gave me the tool I was looking for - until I read your book. Amongst the most influential sources for personal inspiration and growth for myself I consider Eckhart Tolle and his teachings in "The Power of Now", and I see Reverse Therapy as a most valuable resource for bringing the wisdom reflected in that book into practical health care.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you for developing these Reverse Therapy tools and sharing that knowledge through your books and website. I’m continually learning and practicing, not always able to focus as I should, but feeling very reassured just by the fact that I have a tool for understanding how to work and stay healthy. Ms. EH Norway

