How compassion may help me

摘要

I have experienced psychosis for 20 years. The main symptoms are voices and delusions which interact and reinforce each other. I have written a lot about my illness over the years in a series of autobiograhical books called The Stages of Schizophrenia (Chipmunkapublishing 2007). I have had numerous medications including risperidone and clozapine as well as two years of cognitive behavioural therapy. In 2005 I relapsed and having tried many things already it was decided by my CPN to refer me to a more psychological approach and I quickly was nominated to meet a psychologist at my local (mental) hospital. I was told by the psychologist that I would be referred to group work entitled compassion-focused therapy. I wondered what that meant. It was explained that by developing compassion we can soothe the fear caused by schizophrenia. This has been a lengthy and ongoing process as I shall now describe.