Feeling Good
by David D. Burns · first published 1980
81% recommend18% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Practical introduction to cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety, with exercises for spotting and correcting negative thought distortions. Suits anyone wanting self-help tools that complement therapy.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The good news is that anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and other "black holes" of depression can be cured without drugs. In Feeling Good, eminent psychiatrist, David D. Burns, M.D., outlines the remarkable, scientifically proven techniques that will immediately lift your spirits and help you develop a positive outlook on life. Now, in this updated edition, Dr. Burns adds an All-New Consumer′s Guide To Anti-depressant Drugs as well as a new introduction to help answer your questions about the many options available for treating depression.
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…certain point they got so bad that I felt hopeless; I always assumed at some point in my life they'd just stop. But they didn't. So I picked up a book on depression, which turned out to be the CBT bible, "Feeling Good" by David Burns. I started working through the exercises and saw a dramatic drop in panic attacks. (https://i.imgur.com/P29BSRC.jpg) I started turning the CLI into a little app so I could use it wherever.…
on “Launch HN: Quirk (YC S19) – Open-Source Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” ↗…"medical disease" like the cold or the flu, you are completely ignoring the human factor. Many cases of depression can actually be solved without drugs -- by addressing the problem at the root of it. "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" by David D. Burns, goes into this. (http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy/dp/03808...) I don't know why people ignore the real human factor when it comes to depression.…
on “Stephen Fry reveals he attempted suicide in 2012” ↗…therefore I want to show you some things which helped me: - Realize that your depression is lying to you. It doesn't tell the truth. It makes you believe that something is logical even if it isn't. - Read 'Feeling Good' - terrible title, great book. It will probably work better than average on the average HN reader because it takes a 'rational' approach to depression (cognitive-behavioral therapy). It helps you to recognize…
on “A Long, Ugly Year of Depression That’s Finally Fading” ↗Are you still depressed? I try to have 5 good days out of 7 in a week. I found that CBT helps especially the book Feeling Good by David Burns. He has a podcast out now about a new team base cbt approach. The podcast is great and the workbooks in his books are really helpful. He has an associated clinic in Mountain View as…
on “What I have learned from my suicidal patients” ↗I’m currently reading Feeling Good (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0380810336). It was recommended by someone here on HN. I’m half way through and I’d dare to say it’s already changing my life for the better.
on “Ask HN: Courses/resources to improve my self-esteem and believe in myself more?” ↗…improvement. Hackers especially I think would find it interesting because it's almost like a set of hacks for your mind. Two books in particular I'd recommend to anyone who might be interested: - "Feeling Good: the new mood therapy" by David Burns - "The guide to rational living" by Albert Ellis Somewhere on the web there's also a fascinating video of a talk between the Dalai Lama and Aaron T Beck (considered…
on “Depression May Be Foretold in How We Remember” ↗"Feeling Good" by David Burns. Sounds like a pop-psych title, but it is not. At 28 years of age, I am fairly certain this is the most important book I have ever and will ever read in my entire life (but then I desperately…
on “Single psilocybin dose may make lasting personality change” ↗I have learned some strategies for dealing with emotions from Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns. By controlling your thoughts you ultimately control how you feel.
on “Feeling bad about feeling bad can make you feel worse” ↗Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns helped me get out of a hole of anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. Not to say I'm all the way there, but I'm far better than I used to be, and perfectly functional.…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗For those interested in learning more about CBT, "Feeling Good, The New Mood Therapy" by David Burns is probably the most recommended book out there. https://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy/dp/0380... There is also a handy CBT app called Quirk that…
on “Book Review: All Therapy Books” ↗…thoughts create your emotions. Ask yourself why do you feel that way. What thoughts underlie the feelings. Question those thoughts. If you are in Mountain View or the bay area, I'd recommend going to the Feeling Good Institute. I'd also recommend reading Dr. David Burns book Feeling Good. Consider CBT as a set of tools for your brain and human operating system. I would start by learning those tools first.
on “Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?” ↗I have had amazing results with David burns books. As a matter of fact his cbt exercises in 'feeling good' have helped me so much that I've turned them into a software for my own personal use. This way I'm able to do his exercises on the phone / laptop very easily. My bdc score dropped from 20 to 5 in 3 months…
on “Ask HN: Cognitive behaviour therapy, tried and tested resources” ↗If you clicked on this article because you wanted to read about anger management, you may be disappointed. In the event you were, I highly recommend the book, "Feeling Good" by David Burns: https://www.amazon.com/David-M-D-Burns-Feeling-Good/dp/B00GY... Burns turned his practice into a platform, featuring a very active podcast. He's working with people on a mobile app and…
on “Anger Management” ↗I want to jump on and suggest a CBT book - Feeling Good by Dr. David Burns. It is the single biggest factor for helping me out of depression.
on “Ask HN: Are you depressed?” ↗My favorite anti depression book is Feeling Good by Dr. Burns. I especially like the "if that were true, it would mean that..." exercise in the book, where you drill down to the root cause of your negative thoughts. So I asked chatgpt about the book,…
on “Pearson taking legal action over use of its textbooks to train language models” ↗