Now aged 22, she had her first panic attack at 17 and has spent years trying to overcome her overwhelming feelings.
Today, after two courses of cognitive behavioural therapy – the standard NHS treatment for anxiety – proved ineffective, Amelia is finally being helped by a new type of psychological intervention: compassion focused therapy (CFT).
Inspired by Buddhism, CFT was conceived 30 years ago by Professor Paul Gilbert, a clinical psychologist for Derbyshire Health Care Foundation Trust. It is now being offered as a therapy option at a number of NHS hospitals.
Sessions can be either for individuals and last about 50 minutes, or be 90-minute group discussions.
‘It’s similar to CBT, which works by helping patients to consider their negative thoughts and come to more realistic alternative views,’ says Prof Gilbert.
‘But while CBT focuses on changing behaviour in a neutral, practical way – such as using timesheets to plan the day more productively – in CFT the focus is more on being kind to yourself.’
Sessions have three elements: encouraging patients to do activities or make changes that are kind to themselves, such as writing to a friend; helping them focus on seeing the good in other people and their own lives rather than the negative aspects; and getting the patient to speak out loud to themselves in a kind, warm tone.
‘Our brains naturally focus on the negative,’ says Prof Gilbert. ‘For example, if we go shopping and in nine shops the assistants are extremely helpful but in one shop the assistant is very rude, we focus on the latter and lose sight of the positive experiences.
‘Deliberately training our attention to notice kindness in others can be very helpful, which CFT does.’
Through tackling the self-criticism and replacing it with kindness, patients then judge themselves and their lives less harshly and therefore feel happier.
‘By helping people feel compassion, we believe you can create a positive physiological change in your body – just like imagining a delicious dinner will stimulate saliva and appetite,’ continues Prof Gilbert. ‘CBT is primarily focused on thinking and behaviour change but CFT looks at the emotion behind people’s thoughts.’
Kind words: In compassion focused therapy (CFT) the focus is on being kind to yourself and encouraging positivity
CFT therapist Chris Irons adds: ‘It is a relatively new therapy but we are working hard to show that this approach has something important to offer.
‘So far there has been one successful randomised control trial of CFT which found a reduction in symptoms in patients with depression.’ Up to 30 per cent of the population suffers anxiety at any one time. Last month a report from the Office for National Statistics said young women are more anxious than young men, while growing numbers of middle-aged women are suffering chronic anxiety – females aged over 60 are the most likely group to need hospital treatment for the condition.
‘My anxiety started on a night out with friends when we were on holiday in Greece,’ says Amelia, a personal assistant from Surrey.
‘I felt suddenly overwhelmed by panic and I ended up walking back to our apartment alone and then was up all night in absolute bits trying to calm myself down.
‘I ended up getting in the shower every hour to cool down and I had no one to speak to, which made it ten times worse.
‘It was so terrifying I flew home early from the holiday, and afterwards I was always really nervous that I’d have another panic attack somewhere far from home with nobody there to comfort me.’
Following that trip, Amelia’s attacks became regular, happening once or twice a month. They lasted about ten minutes each time and left her upset and exhausted. Her GP referred her for two courses of CBT, but the anxiety persisted.
‘It sounds silly, but I couldn’t stop worrying about my cat during the day – thoughts about her getting run over. Whatever the trigger, I feel light-headed and shaky, my stomach churns and for a moment it’s a bit like I’m having a panic attack. It’s really upsetting.’
Amelia heard about CFT through her volunteer work at a mental health charity and, hoping to eliminate her anxiety, she booked a course of six sessions with a private therapist.
Amelia says: ‘CBT had helped with my generalised anxiety but I preferred CFT because it involved more talking and delving into things like my childhood. I’m usually quite hard on myself so it’s taught me to be kinder, which has really helped.
‘Now when I’m on my own and start to feel panic, I am more gentle on myself, so instead of panicking I sort of talk myself round with comfort. I now know that the anxiety I feel is not my fault. For the first time in years I have found a way to calm down rather than wind myself up still further.’
