Compassionate to yourself and to others (now more than ever this is needed) and the second part gives you exercises to complete to feel and be more compassionate. Personally, I wasnt a fan of the second part of the book, but I would say it could help alot of people and others may find the second part more helpful. The Compassionate Mind Foundation supports research and teaching of an evolution and contemplative informed compassion focused approach to human difficulties. It talks about our under developed self soothing system in the west, which is exacerbated if you were not given a lot of this in your early years. It divides systems into three (for the sake of simplicity) Threat system, Drive system, Soothing system... If you stop and take note of your thoughts and emotions, a lot of these fall into Threat or Drive, so the task is to build upon the soothing.

The Compassionate Mind (Audio Download): Paul Gilbert, Rupert The Compassionate Mind (Audio Download): Paul Gilbert, Rupert

I didn't feel compelled to do the exercises, aside from reading them and mulling them over. I have also bought the workbook as I thought it would be an easier format for doing exercises. So that will be another review! This ability to have empathy for difference, to be open to diversity, to work hard at thinking about how other people may differ from you is a key step on the road to compassion – and it’s not always easy.” The cooperative mentality can orient us to be egalitarian in our ways of thinking. Recent evidence suggests that egalitarian attitudes produce more healthy responses when people are confronted with stressful social encounters than biased, competitive and non-egalitarian attitudes.13 There’s also growing evidence that fostering cooperative attitudes and behaviours in children and adolescents (in contrast to competitive and individualistic ones) promotes positive relationships, improved mental and physical health and higher achievements.14 In addition, it’s increasingly thought that cooperative groups will out-compete competitive/individualistic ones in the long term. In fact, business is finding out that the internet is a good source for problem-solving because people simply like to share their thoughts and ideas for free! It’s sad that, in the face of this, governments continue to buy into the business model that competition creates efficiency. Within the NHS, for example, we’re increasingly split into small competing groups called ‘business units’. Fostering high levels of cooperation would be far better.” A deciding factor in whether to give a five star review is: has this booked changed my outlook on life to a significant degree? We can also become more aware of how our societies may be stimulating the selfish ‘me first’ part of ourselves with unrealistic fantasies and desires and setting us up to want more and more and, at the same time, to feel more disappointed and personal failures”Allan, S & Gilbert, P. (1997). Submissive behaviour and psychopathology. British Journal of Clinical Psychology 36, 467-488. We need to recognize, however, that when we accept ourselves as we are, and life as it is, we may find it easier to find peace and contentment within ourselves. This is absolutely not a position of passive, defeated resignation but rather it is about looking around to see what we can do now with what we’ve got. It’s about ‘being in the moment’ as opposed to living in regret and with ‘if onlys’ or ‘isn’t it unfair’ or ‘I could have been . . .” Facilitating open discussion on how to further promote a compassionate focus in many domains of human activity.

The Compassionate Mind by Paul Gilbert | Hachette UK The Compassionate Mind by Paul Gilbert | Hachette UK

Gilbert P & Irons, C. (2004). A pilot exploration of the use of compassionate images in a group of self-critical people. Memory, 12, 507-516. As one of Britain's most insightful psychologists, Gilbert illuminates the power of compassion in our lives.' It's worth a read if you want encouraging to be more reflective with a compassionate mindset, but you'd get the picture if you simply read Part One.Gilbert, P., Allan, S. & Goss, K. (1996). Parental representations, shame interpersonal problems and vulnerability to psychopathology. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 3, 23-34.