The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety: Using Compassion-Focused Therapy to Calm Worry, Panic, and Fear

Compassionate-mind Guides

by Dennis Tirch, Paul B. Gilbert (Forward)

Anxiety is not your fault. There are many factors that contribute to developing a mind that is prone to intense anxiety, and if you have such a mind, there are many things you can do to change the way it works. Research has shown that practicing kindness and compassion soothes experiences of fear, while self-critical thoughts tend to intensify them. If you become frustrated with your anxious reactions or consistently try to talk yourself out of your anxiety, it may be time to try a different approach.

The compassion-focused therapy (CFT) based program in The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety will help you learn to be kinder to yourself while you soothe your anxious impulses. Complete with worksheets, exercises, and meditation practices, this book includes everything you need to learn mindfulness and compassion-focused skills for redirecting your anxious thoughts and allowing yourself to enjoy a more peaceful life.

By learning to be a compassionate witness to your own pain, you will also learn to be fully present in the moment, and develop healthier, more fluid ways of responding to life’s struggles. This resourceful guide aims to help you understand the nature of your anxiety, the best ways of dealing with it, and how your mind can help you cope with it.
 

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Social Work

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Laureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

very informative. unfortunately it was also very dry.

[Stacie Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Compassionate-Mind guide to overcoming anxiety, in exchange for honest review from Bethany House. The book was written by Dennis Tirch.

I chose this book because I have anxiety issues. The book talked about how people are calmed by warmth, compassion, and connection with others. The book also discusses healthy ways to deal with aggression.

Anxiety also affects people physically (the body) via tingling, shallow breathing, tightening of the stomach, and panic attacks.

I also liked how the book discussed the types of anxiety. Panic Attacks can cause an increase in heart rate and hyperventilation. Generalized anxiety affects attitude (negativity). People may not feel safe or content. Anxiety also has basis in culture and experiences, which affect thoughts and actions. Next, people can experience social anxiety, which causes worry about what others think. People may fear rejection or alienation. Finally, people have specific phobias, such as spiders, heights, or snakes.

I have had panic attacks before, along with social phobia, generalized anxiety, and specific phobias. The book was a good read.

[Rosa Talavera-Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great perspective on how to manage anxiety through compassionate love.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who reads more than my fair share of books about dealing with anxiety and PTSD and other issues related to dysfunctional family backgrounds [1], it is helpful to ponder the worldview that produces a book like this. Even, as is the case where, where conscience forbids a positive review, it is worthwhile to ponder the effort that is taken to produce a counterfeit Christian view out of materials, and the reasons why this would be done. This particular book advocates a technique for self-compassion therapy that combines elements from three disharmonious sources: an oversimplified [2] view of the brain and a misguided devotion to evolutionary biology, Buddhist techniques in meditation, and an eclectic blend of Jungian archetypes and cognitive behavioral theory dressed up with kinder, gentler language. With this unholy Frankenstein monster of a mosaic approach, the author seeks to stitch together the compassion and desire for growth of biblical Christianity and the desire for salvation from anxiety and torment without the need to honor God and Jesus Christ as Creator, Lord, or Savior. While I wholeheartedly disapprove of the author’s efforts, there is something striking in the fact that the author made such an effort, and made the incompatible elements open enough to be recognized for what they are.

In terms of its structure and contents, the book is short at under 200 pages and consists of ten chapters in two parts after an opening preface, forward, and personal story. The first part, explaining the compassionate mind approach to overcoming anxiety, gives a fallacious discussion of the emergence of anxiety and how it has evolved, and also comments on the supposed evolution within psychology towards a compassionate-mind approach, and explores the attributes and skills of the compassionate mind. The second part provides more practical discussion of compassionate mind training for anxiety, starting with a sandy foundation of mindfulness, compassion-focused imagery, and then a detailed approach on compassionate thinking and behavior and also beginning again, constantly. This part of the book contains various useful techniques for controlled breathing and relaxation to help someone calm down in the grips of a panic attack, as some of us are prone to having from time to time.

The faulty philosophical and political worldview of this book makes it impossible to recommend. The techniques the author recommends are of practical use in calming someone’s anxious nerves, but can also be used in suppressing one’s conscience in order to feel more at ease with behaving according to one’s selfish lusts as opposed to the ways of God. The book’s marked hostility towards biblical law and its ethical demands suggests that the author has tried out many of the techniques of the book in suppressing his own conscience so as to be more at ease with being a fallen being, without the healthy longing for moral improvement. As a result of the author’s consistently antibiblical approach, this book is of extremely limited value, except insofar as it provides a classic example for the longing for compassion and mercy without the longing for repentance and reconciliation with God that is rampant in our contemporary world, and insofar as it provides practical techniques for dealing successfully with a stressful world. Whether that is sufficient reason to read this book I leave to the reader to decide.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very slow, I reel like the first half of the book simply sold itself rather than offering any useful advice.
The second half delivered, with many exercises that are easy to implement and, personally, delivered quick results.

[Jenny Wuehrmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

In truth, I made it through about 60% of the book. It was fine, made some points I hadn't thought about before, but in general didn't find exponential value. I'll stick to my Kabat-Zinn.

[Sarah Alderbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good twist on CBT with more compassion.

[Lil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books that I've read on anxiety. It's outstanding!