Compassion Focused Therapy – serie

'Wise and perceptive. [It] teaches self-compassion and the consolations of kindness. I recommend it.'SALLY BRAMPTON, author of Shoot the Damn DogDEVELOP YOUR FEELINGS OF COMPASSION AND INCREASE YOUR SENSE OF WELL-BEING In societies that encourage us to compete with each other, compassion is often seen as a weakness. Striving to get ahead, self-criticism, fear, and hostility towards others seem to come more naturally to us.The Compassionate Mind explains the evolutionary and social reasons why our brains react so readily to threats - and reveals how our brains are also hardwired to respond to kindness and compassion.Research has found that developing kindness and compassion for ourselves and others builds our confidence, helps us create meaningful, caring relationships and promotes physical and mental health. Far from fostering emotional weakness, practical exercises focusing on developing compassion have been found to subdue our anger and increase our courage and resilience to depression and anxiety. 'As one of Britain's most insightful psychologists, Gilbert illuminates the power of compassion in our lives.' OLIVER JAMES, AUTHOR OF AFFLUENZA

We know what it's like to worry from time to time, but for some of us, our worrying can take over and have a serious impact on our lives. When our anxiety gets out of hand and starts to dominate our lives, affecting how we function and our general sense of wellbeing, it's time to do something about it. This accessible self-help guide provides the reader with a clear understanding of how problem anxiety develops, the kinds of problems it's causing them and sets out ground-breaking Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) techniques to overcome their anxiety . CFT was initially developed by Professor Paul Gilbert OBE, author of the bestselling The Compassionate Mind which set out his ground-breaking approach, to treat those with high levels of shame and self-criticism. It uses the proven, research-based techniques of CBT and other therapies with a special focus on the importance of developing inner compassion, in order to alleviate feelings of shame, develop a more balanced outlook and promote resilience. It incorporates elements of mindfulness and Tibetan Buddhism with recent research on human development and studies of the brain. It is increasingly used to treat a wide range of emotional and psychological problems including depression, overeating, shyness, trauma, anxiety and anger.

Anger is one of the most difficult emotions for human beings to cope with. If our anger is unmanaged, we can end up behaving in destructive ways towards both ourselves and other people, and can face relationship difficulties and negative health consequences. Far from 'letting ourselves off the hook', recent research has shown that by developing compassion towards ourselves and others and compassionately understanding our anger and the factors that fuel it, we can connect with the courage and skills needed to change our behaviour. This fascinating and practical self-help guide will give you a number of powerful techniques for tackling your anger head on and taking control of it, rather than letting it control you.USING THIS WORKBOOK, READERS WILL LEARN ABOUT:- The factors that trigger and fuel our anger, how it works and how to change the anger response- Specific skills to manage anger and improve relationshipsFilled with interactive exercises and practical skills, The Anger Workbook will guide you in your journey to transform your anger into inner strength. THE COMPASSIONATE MIND APPROACHThe self-help books in this series are based on compassion focused therapy (CFT, developed by series editor Paul Gilbert). This brings together an understanding of how our mind can cause us difficulties but also provides us with a powerful solution in the shape of mindfulness and compassion. It teaches ways to stimulate the part of the brain connected with kindness, warmth, compassion and safeness, and to calm the part that makes us feel, anxious, angry, sad or depressed.

There is nothing wrong with being shy - it is a natural emotion that everyone can experience. But if shyness is negatively impacting your life, The Shyness Workbook can help you grow your confidence.Shyness has evolved as an emotion over thousands of years and can be helpful in some circumstances. However, it can become a problem when it interferes with life goals, develops into social anxiety disorder or leads to 'learned pessimism', mild depression and even 'learned helplessness'. In this way, shyness and shame often hold us back from realising our potential and from engaging with others wholeheartedly.This practical self-help workbook sets out the background to shyness - its evolutionary functions and why it becomes chronic in some people - and teaches skills and exercises to help you overcome problematic shyness.Using this workbook, readers will learn how to:· Cope with shy feelings and debunk anxious thoughts· Develop self-compassion· Practise new, confident behavioursFull of fresh insights and exercises, The Shyness Workbook will support your journey into developing social self-confidence.THE COMPASSIONATE MIND APPROACHThe self-help books in this series are based on the Compassionate Mind Approach (developed by series editor Paul Gilbert). This brings together an understanding of how our mind can cause us difficulties but also provides us with a powerful solution in the shape of mindfulness and compassion. It teaches ways to stimulate the part of the brain connected with kindness, warmth, compassion and safeness, and to calm the part that makes us feel anxious, angry, sad or depressed.

Learn how to develop compassion for yourself and your familyHaving a baby can be a time of joy, but also one of anxiety and challenge. Although the period of time through pregnancy and infancy is relatively short, mothers have a sense of its importance and often work hard both mentally and physically to get it 'right'. This fascinating and practical self-help book will guide mothers-to-be and new mothers through the maze of parenting advice and confusing feelings that can arise.It explains how a brain state called 'the compassionate mind' has developed through evolution to be a particularly powerful way of helping us to get through the challenges of life with confidence, strength and steadiness.Using this workbook you will learn:· Powerful techniques for creating a sense of support, safeness and joy for you, your baby and your family in which you can all best flourish.· How to understand and attune to the mind of your child to create a secure attachment.· How to create the basis for a compassionate mind in your child so that they can navigate the challenges of life and make positive and healthy relationships.Filled with interactive exercises and practical skills, The New Motherhood Workbook will be a source of support through the perinatal period.THE COMPASSIONATE MIND APPROACHThe self-help books in this series are based on Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT, developed by series editor Paul Gilbert). This brings together an understanding of how our mind can cause us difficulties but also provides us with a powerful solution in the shape of mindfulness and compassion. It teaches ways to stimulate the part of the brain connected with kindness, warmth, compassion and safeness, and to calm the part that makes us feel, anxious, angry, sad or depressed.

Learn to stop overeating for good and discover your own healthy weight and eating habitsThis compassionate, therapeutic workbook explores the problems created by having ready access to high fat foods designed to taste good. Because we evolved in conditions of relative scarcity, we have few natural food inhibitors and so most diet books try to encourage people to limit their eating using strict rules which have to be constantly worked at.However, this can lead to self-criticism which can undermine efforts at self-control. As a result, our relationship with eating can be complex, multifaceted and problematic.USING THIS WORKBOOK, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO:· Understand and work with your urges and passion for food· Pay attention to your biological and emotional needs· Have a healthier and happier relationship with food and your bodyIf you have tried diets and found that they don't work, The Eating Well Workbook is for you.THE COMPASSIONATE MIND APPROACHThe self-help books in this series are based on compassion focused therapy (CFT, developed by series editor Paul Gilbert). This brings together an understanding of how our mind can cause us difficulties but also provides us with a powerful solution in the shape of mindfulness and compassion. It teaches ways to stimulate the part of the brain connected with kindness, warmth, compassion and safeness, and to calm the part that makes us feel anxious, angry, sad or depressed.

A cancer diagnosis changes everything.The future you imagined dissolves, your identity is reshaped, relationships are challenged, and a storm of emotions are awakened that linger long after treatment. The Cancer Workbook helps you navigate that terrain; a practical roadmap through diagnosis, treatment and survival.Inside, you'll find self-reflection practices, practical worksheets and techniques to foster courage, self-compassion and gentle acceptance of change. You will learn:· Why our evolutionarily 'tricky brains' are so ill-equipped to face illness· How dignity, shame, loss, loneliness, vulnerability and resilience are all important factors in cancer care· How to manage pain and find a mental place of safety· Ways to take these tools into your life beyond cancer, in recovery.THE COMPASSIONATE MIND APPROACHThe self-help books in this series are based on compassion focused therapy (CFT, developed by series editor Paul Gilbert). This brings together an understanding of how our mind can cause us difficulties but also provides us with a powerful solution in the shape of mindfulness and compassion. It teaches ways to stimulate the part of the brain connected with kindness, warmth, compassion and safeness, and to calm the part that makes us feel, anxious, angry, sad or depressed.

Parenting is hard. We live in a world that is rife with criticism and, unfortunately, this has a vast impact upon our wellbeing, with self-criticism leading to anxiety, guilt, sadness, shame and hopelessness. This naturally makes parenting feel even harder.On the other hand, applying self-compassion can make you more emotionally resilient, have lower stress levels and healthier relationships. Being more compassionate gives you a greater sense of perceived personal control within your life, and these skills are proven to be passed on to children too - with better life outcomes for those who are brought up to receive compassion and be compassionate.This book will introduce compassion to your life as a person, a parent, and in your approach to your child. Hopefully in the future, this will mean your child will adopt this way of relating to themselves and to others too.USING THIS WORKBOOK, READERS WILL LEARN ABOUT:- Managing the systems that drive us, cause us to react to threats, or soothe us.- Developing a compassionate mind for yourself, and encouraging that in your children.- Putting compassionate skills in action for specific problems like eating, sleeping and behaviour.Filled with interactive exercises and practical skills, The Compassionate Parenting Workbook will guide you in your journey to be a more compassionate parent.THE COMPASSIONATE MIND APPROACHThe self-help books in this series are based on compassion focused therapy (CFT, developed by series editor Paul Gilbert). This brings together an understanding of how our mind can cause us difficulties but also provides us with a powerful solution in the shape of mindfulness and compassion. It teaches ways to stimulate the part of the brain connected with kindness, warmth, compassion and safeness, and to calm the part that makes us feel, anxious, angry, sad or depressed.

Many of us have a tendency to measure our self-worth by comparing ourselves to others. But when we fail to reach our own, families, communities or societies 'ideals' this often results in feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and low mood. We may become self-critical, experience shame and a sense of being different from others. Although an improvement in 'self-esteem' is what we may feel we want this is not necessarily what we need. This is because self-esteem is often associated with times when things are going well but can fail us when things do not go to plan. In contrast self-confidence, built from self-compassion, can help us when things are going well and make us more resilient when things are difficult.This book uses the ideas and practices of Compassion Focused Therapy to help build self-confidence. Attention is also paid to difficulties that often come hand in hand with lack of self-confidence such as anxiety, depression, substance use and anger.

It is well-known that having a baby can be a time of joy but also one of anxiety and even depression for new mothers. Indeed it is very common for new mothers to experience a short period of distress following childbirth, often referred to as 'baby blues'. Usually this passes quite quickly, however for more than 1 in 10 women, this distressing experience can be more prolonged. This practical self-help book based on Compassion Focused Therapy will help women to recognise some of the symptoms and, where appropriate, to normalise them, thereby alleviating their distress. It will also guide mothers-to-be and new mothers through the maze of confusing feelings that can arise. Not only will this book cover the basic experiences and symptoms associated with anxiety and depression and childbirth, an evolutionary model of why this occurs, and an outline of the basic Compassionate Mind model, it will guide the reader through a series of exercises that they can use for themselves to develop their compassionate mind and work on their difficulties.

This self-help book explores the problems created by having ready access to high fat foods designed to taste good. Because we evolved in conditions of relative scarcity we have few natural food inhibitors and so most diet books try to encourage people to inhibit their eating by highly rule governed behaviours which have to be constantly worked at. However, this can lead to various forms of self-criticism which can undermine efforts at self-control. As a result our relationship with eating can be complex, multifaceted and problematic.Beating Overeating Using Compassion Focused Therapy uses Compassion Focused Therapy - a groundbreaking new therapeutic approach - to understand and work with our urges and passions for food. We can learn to enjoy and accept food and pay attention to our biological and emotional needs. This book is for people who have tried diets and found that they don't work and will enable the reader to have a healthier and happier relationship with food and their body.Topics covered: The relationship between our brains and food, the evolutionary background to finding, conserving and eating food How too much or too little food affects the brain, why diets don't work, factors affecting our eating behaviour (tastes, stress, comfort, etc) Body shape and cultureDeveloping an inner compassion for one's relationship with food - recognising what we need and what is helpful

Shyness can affect most of us to varying degrees, and tends to affect children more than adults as people tend to grow in confidence as they get older. It is therefore a universal emotion but in some people it is a more pronounced personality trait. Severe shyness is referred to as 'social anxiety disorder', however this self-help book is written for the people experiencing different degrees of shyness. Shyness has evolved as an emotion over thousands of years and can be helpful in some circumstances, however normal shyness can become chronic thanks to negative thoughts, avoidance and withdrawal. While shyness has its functions, it becomes a problem when it interferes with life goals, develops into social anxiety disorder or leads on to 'learned pessimism', mild depression and even 'learned helplessness'. This self-help book, based on the groundbreaking new Compassion Focused Therapy, sets out the background to shyness - its evolutionary functions, why it becomes chronic in some people, and sets out skills and exercises based on CFT to help the reader overcome problematic shyness.

We can all get angry from time to time but when it gets out of hand it can have a serious impact on many aspects of our lives. As well as having an impact on our physical and mental health and our ability to engage in healthy relationships, it can also potentially have an enormous impact on society. The media is rife with stories of domestic violence, tragic stories of shaken babies, road-rage incidents and bullying.Mounting evidence suggests that all this anger can be harmful to us in a number of different ways. As well as the enormously damaging impact chronic anger can have on our relationships with other people, it is being linked to health problems such as cardiovascular disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and mental illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This invaluable self-help guide will enable the reader to recognise their personal anger problems, gain an understanding of what lies behind their anger, and use techniques based on Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) to deal with their anger more effectively. CFT was initially developed by Professor Paul Gilbert, author of The Compassionate Mind, to treat those with high levels of self-criticism. It uses the proven, research-based techniques of CBT and other therapies with a special focus on the importance of developing inner compassion, in order to alleviate feelings of shame, develop a more balanced outlook and promote resilience. It incorporates elements of mindfulness and Tibetan Buddhism with recent research on human development and studies of the brain. It is increasingly used to treat a wide range of emotional and psychological problems including depression, overeating, shyness, trauma, anxiety and anger.