Over the years Ron and Su Farmer have received many letters from grateful listeners who have been helped by the CDs and tapes. Some were from people who had been suffering without relief for a long time. Others were from professionals who had seen remarkable changes take place in their patients.

" I originally sent for your CDs to use with clients. However, at this stage they haven't left my car where I can play them on long trips. Some of the concepts you use have been very useful for clients."              
Counsellor, NSW, Australia

Dear Dr Farmer
I received your letter re the Self Help Therapy CDs which I purchased several years ago. I bought 10 of the CDs (not the Weight Control) and found them excellent. They helped me through difficult times plus the death of my husband and later through the sudden death of my 19 year old grandson. I still have the CDs....... I would recommend the CDs.
Joan T. Brisbane, Australia

Hello Ron
I have been using your Mastering Fear and Meditation CDs and I think they are possibly the best I have come across. Thank you!
Majella L. (via email)

                                                                       
                                            Beverley's experience:
My first experience of what it is like to suffer from panic disorder and anxiety began in 1987 when I was working as a long haul flight attendant based in Sydney, Australia.

I remember vividly being in a large department store in London on a cold, December day. I was browsing through the Christmas cards and admiring the decorations and Christmas trees when suddenly my heart began to pound, my hands felt hot and sweaty, I felt dizzy and I had an impulsive desire to rush outside into the cold London air. Once outside, these frightening symptoms began to subside but my legs felt decidedly wobbly and as I walked back to the hotel, I felt a sense of unease and fear. I couldn't imagine what was the matter with me, but as I developed a severe cold the following day, I put that first initial panic attack down to the onset of my cold. I flew back to Singapore two days later and stayed in bed for the duration of my layover there, but on the third day decided to venture downstairs to the supermarket to buy juice and fruit. I distinctly remember the fluorescent lights annoying my eyes and when I was standing in the queue at the checkout, that frightening rush of energy appeared again. I left my grocery items on the counter and fled back to my room. All I could think of was getting back to Sydney - I had the ridiculous notion that once back in my own surroundings, those dreadful sensations would disappear and all would be well again. Of course, this was not the case - panic attacks began to appear for no apparent reason whenever I was in a supermarket, in a queue at the bank, held up in traffic or when I was trying to have a conversation with friends and appear 'normal'.

After enduring this strange behaviour I had developed I decided to seek medical help and visited the local GP. In the past I had found him to be helpful and sympathetic, but on this occasion he seemed to think I was looking for an excuse for time away from my work - which in a way I was, but not for the reasons he assumed! I left the surgery feeling abandoned and helpless. What was wrong with me? How could I function with these strange sensations jumping out at me? How would I be able to continue with my job? Thoughts such as these raced through my head until I almost drove myself insane.

My life continued on in this 'avoidance' fashion with me gradually withdrawing more and more into myself. It wasn't long before the supermarket became a no-go area, as did airports, but interestingly I was almost always fine when on board the aircraft. I took time off work thinking if I rested all would be well, but nothing helped. I changed GP's and was referred to a psychiatrist who prescribed a variety of vile drugs that made me feel like a zombie and out of control. Luckily I had the sense to stop taking them - the panic and anxiety was preferable to losing my mind.

What I find astonishing now, as I look back at those awful times, is that nobody said to me "You are suffering from panic disorder. Your symptoms are normal for this condition." This revelation didn't come until years later when my husband, who had spent hours doing research in the library, seeking help from university professors, priests and self-help therapists, came across a book by Clare Weekes called 'Self help For Your Nerves'. As I read the book, I realised I had been tricked into this state of seclusion by my nerves, but how to get out of it now was a different matter. I was virtually housebound. I didn't receive visitors, answer the phone, go to work or spend any time in the garden. I became depressed and even watching television would deplete my energy and bring on another panic attack. I stopped exercising and spent my days crying and wondering how to escape this living hell.

My husband took endless days off work when I would cry and beg him to stay home with me. I was afraid of being alone and he knew this, but how could we continue like this? I was too wrapped up in my suffering at this stage to see what pressure I was putting him under, but being the type of person he is, he stayed focused and his goal was to get me better.

One day, Phil arrived home from the library with a tape called 'Nervous Breakthrough' by psychologist Ron Farmer. Phil learned that Ron Farmer had suffered a similar fate himself and thought this might be the breakthrough we needed. He was right. I listened to that tape over and over again, renewing it again and again at the library. On days when I could do little else, I would listen to the tape and it would bring a certain measure of peace to my troubled mind. I also listened to tapes by Jack Kornfield about 'A Path With Heart'. Together I began to see my life starting to take shape. Cognitive behaviour therapy didn't really work for me - I could go to the supermarket one day without any problems at all, then the following day I would flee back to the car as soon as we reached the door. No, the tapes were far more helpful.

Over a period of a couple of years, my life began to move on. I developed different attitudes; I changed my thoughts on certain issues completely and as I grew into this new person, my fears gradually disappeared all by themselves. I won't say it was easy because at times progress was slow, but the rewards are so sweet now. I view life in a completely different way, I appreciate my husband in a way that I never would have been aware of before my anxiety took hold, and feel a peace I didn't know existed even before that fateful day in London all those years ago.

I live and work in Warwickshire, England now. I travel ten miles a day to and from work in heavy traffic, deal with people in a busy job, visit friends when I feel like it, go shopping if I need to and live what most people would describe as a 'normal' life. However, when I am sitting in the traffic, rain pouring down onto my windscreen, I often think of the times I couldn't do this and smile to myself. I still feel anxiety and panic at times, but it holds no fear for me now and I go back to the basics - it never fails me
Beverley NSW, Australia