Paul Gilbert
PhD, OBE, Author of The Compassionate Mind
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Paul Gilbert
“In this remarkable book, the editors have brought together international leading thinkers and clinicians to illuminate how understanding the evolutionary history and functions of the mind provide crucial insights into our vulnerabilities to mental health difficulties and what we require to flourish. It is full of fascinating and detailed analyses of basic processes, from epigenetics, the role of hunter-gatherer societies in shaping our social motives, through to evolutionary conceptualisations of a range of different types of mental health problems and their treatment. With increasing recognition that progress in understanding, developing interventions for, and preventing mental health problems requires insight into how our brains, bodies, and minds came to be the way they are, this book makes an outstanding contribution and will be a major resource for clinicians and researchers for many years to come.” (from Amazon)
by Riadh Abed, Paul St John-Smith·You?
by Riadh Abed, Paul St John-Smith·You?
Evolutionary psychiatry attempts to explain and examine the development and prevalence of psychiatric disorders through the lens of evolutionary and adaptationist theories. In this edited volume, leading international evolutionary scholars present a variety of Darwinian perspectives that will encourage readers to consider 'why' as well as 'how' mental disorders arise. Using insights from comparative animal evolution, ethology, anthropology, culture, philosophy and other humanities, evolutionary thinking helps us to re-evaluate psychiatric epidemiology, genetics, biochemistry and psychology. It seeks explanations for persistent heritable traits shaped by selection and other evolutionary processes, and reviews traits and disorders using phylogenetic history and insights from the neurosciences as well as the effects of the modern environment. By bridging the gap between social and biological approaches to psychiatry, and encouraging bringing the evolutionary perspective into mainstream psychiatry, this book will help to inspire new avenues of research into the causation and treatment of mental disorders.
Recommended by Paul Gilbert
“The Buddha taught that life is full of suffering but mindful compassion will help us both cope and gain insight into the nature of our minds. Mindfulness asks us to pay attention to our reactions as they unfold moment by moment. In this gentle book, Aria Campbell-Danesh and Seth Gillihan offer 365 reflections and invitations to be mindful in specific ways. They range over paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, and actions; noticing our bodies from our hands to our feet; noticing our sensory capacities and our desires and disappointments; noticing the way we may start each day with a hope, ‘a rush to do,’ or a dread. Drawing on a multitude of contemplative and scientific thinkers, this book is full of wonderful ideas for mindfulness practices for each day of the year that lift us out of the treadmill of the automatic pilot. Looking through these ways of focusing our attention reveals new vistas of experience -- if we learn to pay attention. The world grows around us and becomes deeper and more multitextured.” (from Amazon)
by Aria Campbell-Danesh; Seth J. Gillihan·You?
by Aria Campbell-Danesh; Seth J. Gillihan·You?
Written by two experts in the field of cognitive behavioral therapy--the best tested set of practices for alleviating stress and anxiety--these daily meditations invite you to find contentment, peace, and happiness in place of worry and fear. Each day's reading reveals how the powerful tool of mindfulness can help you to become more grounded, energized, motivated, and satisfied with your life. You'll discover in these pages how to be attentive and open to the present while calmly acknowledging and accepting your thoughts, feelings, and sensations. The authors' deep expertise and clinical experience in the field of psychology lends scientific weight to the mindfulness practices found in this practical and inspirational guide. The daily entries in A Mindful Year will guide you to reconnect with core values: authenticity, compassion, gratitude, simplicity. Each of the 365 readings leads with an uplifting quote from the likes of Kahlil Gibran, Maya Angelou, Alan Watts, Harper Lee, Thomas Merton, Alice Walker, Eckhart Tolle, Rumi, and the Dalai Lama--and is followed by reflections, anecdotes, and timeless insights on all aspects of daily living. Each entry concludes with an invitation, a call to action that will bring the mindfulness practice into your life in a meaningful way. As you spend time each day with the readings you will find yourself feeling less disconnected and empty, and more in tune with what matters most in your life A Mindful Year is a book readers will turn to again and again as it becomes a daily companion in finding wisdom, love, connection, and joy.