Chronic illnesses are long-term ailments that require alterations to daily routines to cope with associated symptoms. Rates of anxiety and depression in chronic illness patients are significantly greater than their healthy peers, and the bidirectional relationship between mental and physical illness symptoms has been established. Self-compassion based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) teaches individuals to accept both themselves and their realities without judgement, which may be useful for chronic illness patients who must cope with the consequences of their symptoms and diagnoses (Hughes et al., 2021).
Hughes et al. conducted a literature review to examine the association between self-compassion and anxiety and depression levels in individuals with chronic physical illnesses. Findings concluded that chronic illness patients with greater levels of self-compassion experienced lower levels of distress. Importantly, the literature review revealed that all patients, regardless of severity of anxiety and depression, benefitted from self-compassion interventions. Therefore, Hughes et al. suggests that offering self-compassion interventions to chronic illness patients regardless of their distress level may provide some alleviation from anxiety, depression, and self-blaming cognitions.
Citation:
Hughes, M., Brown, S. L., Campbell, S., Dandy, S., & Cherry, M. G. (2021). Self-compassion and anxiety and depression in chronic physical illness populations: A systematic review. Mindfulness, 12(7), 1597–1610. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1007/s12671-021-01602-y
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