Customer Reviews

Feeling Good (Signet)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I found this book to be a wonderful addition to antidepressants and psychotherapy. After about a year of being on antidepressants and dealing with some deep lifelong issues, my therapist recommended this book to me. It is _not_ a substitute for professional help for people who are suffering from a clinical depression. I wouldn't have been able to make use of it totally on my own without the help of therapy and medication to deal with the bleakest parts of my depression.

But once I was on the road to being emotionally healthier, this book was an additional guide, and I would count it among the most influential books I have ever read. I can say that it changed my life, my outlook on life, and my ability to enjoy life.

I recommend this book highly for anyone who is at a point where they are ready (and able) to seriously look at their own thought processes and how they contribute to their moods and attitudes.

I'm not a person who's used to giving 5* reviews for books; it happens too frequently to give accurate pespective.

However, this is an excellent book. I've had moderate depression for ten years. This book gives the effefcts of depression and practical, long-term ways to deal with it. It gives you an inside perspective of how depression affects the way you look at the world.

The thesis of this book is that by changing the way you interpret events, you can change your mood.

If you give this book two weeks and stick to it for six months, you will experience a significant improvement in your level of happiness.

The writing is very well done and explanatory. You will develop automatic techniques that change and improve your attitude. I highly reccommend this bookm and its siblings by Dr. Burns.

I read this in '95, in the midst of much analytical/CBT therapy + drugs. I'm better now, but still fuming from the memory of reading this book. The title is appropriate, because it makes no reference to clinical depression.

This book can help anybody - depressed or not - recognize faulty thinking. People who are mildly depressed will benefit greatly from it.

People w/ major depression will only be infuriated. Most severely depressed people have already exhausted themselves trying to correct their thinking. If that's all it took, it wouldn't be real depression, it would be dysthymia.

Dr. Burns does sufferers of depression a real disservice by perpetuating the notion that depression can be "lifted" or "cured" through rigorous mental vigilance. It makes us look like lazy whiners who really just need to straighten up, be diligent about our mental outlook. No wonder there's a stigma associated with depression!

CBT is great for anyone who is capable of functioning from day to day. But it's not effective for severe bouts of major depression.

This type of book might make you feel less suicidal--because you'll feel homicidal instead!

Do you ever have doubting words of negativity that play in your head? Do you ever get anxious? Jealous?? Depressed? Sad??

I have lived with anxiety and distress most of my life. It started when I was a child and everything that I attempt in life was an uphill battle. A lot of my struggles have been silenced by just reading this book. Does it sound like a miracle? It may be. I am a book lover but this book made me realize the POWER of books. Do you believe in self help books? You don't?

This book will help you silence thoughts of negativity and doubt. Along with Marsha Linehan's handbook for theraphists of Dialectical Behavior Theraphy, this book helped me to 1) invalidate my negative thoughts and not "give in to them" thinking that whatever negative thought that pops into my head was "valid" and needed to be considered seriously; 2) that somehow, some people's wiring is such that negative thoughts pop into our heads--doesn't matter if it is due to negative childhood experiences or just because we are "wired" this way, the point is, just IGNORE the bad thoughts--they do nothing but make you miserable--this book will start to show you how to ignore the negative thoughts--or rather, rationalize them away; 3) there is no MUST...stop musturbating...there are no absolutes in life, just be happy to "let" life be and take it easy.

If you want a greater quality of life, just buy and read this book...that is if you are like my former self, filled with anxiety, worries and mild depression.

I am about 1000 percent better, but life is a vigilent watch for happiness and great days...my life has gotten so much better since I read this book about 6 weeks ago. I no longer think that I "MUST" get this, I "MUST" have this relationship, I "MUST" be this and that...I just live and feel that that is just enough to feel good! This is not a "settle" for what life gives you type of book, not for me, anyway. What this book did for me was to silence the voices that were dragging me down, my own inner negative voices. I now know that I have to live in the moment, no past regrets, no future worries, just live for now and today. This book is not about hedonism and not planning for the future kind of book though, this book teaches that you must plan for a better future. For instance, are you under the weather and you feel like being mean to your spouse? Do you feel like "starting" it with your boyfriend? How about remembering that your relationship is for the long haul and withholding yourself from acting out?

Read this book and make it your own, I did! If you have "ISSUES" with your personality, if you are irritable, jealous, indignant, feel entitled, anxious, depressed or sad, please get this book and read it. Good luck!!

It's important to mention that this is the one and only self-help book that has empirical support. It works; it's been proven! If you have mild to moderate depression, this book is likely to be tremendously helpful to you. If you have severe depression, this book is a great addition to therapy (Burns provides a checklist to assess your level of depression).

I'm a psychology student who has been depressed on and off throughout my life. I used the techniques in this book, and my depression completely lifted in a few weeks. It's not magic though. The techniques are very concrete. This book will help you identify and change the negative patterns of thought that keep you depressed, and keep your self-esteem down. As a psych major, I can tell you this book is a great example of the cognitive-behavioral school of therapy.

Do yourself a favor and read this book! It's a great option for those who are not completely open to therapy (or who can't afford it).

The list of the ten "cognitive distortions" on pages 40-41 is worth the price of this book. I have memorized them and use them almost every day to catch myself making mistakes in my thinking when I'm angry or disappointed, or sad, or peeved, or whatever. Memorize that list. It's not hard to do. And then when you catch yourself making one of those mistakes, you instantly feel better, because the "cognitive distortion" warped your view of the world in a way that made you have more negative emotion than you needed to have. This is different than positive thinking. It's different than trying to make yourself believe something positive you don't believe. This is clearing up the illusions you have that make you feel bad. It is practical and is very effective.

Another book that deals very well with this is Self-Help Stuff That Works by Adam Khan (Youme Works; ISBN: 0962465674). Great references too. Each chapter ends with a very useful principle. I heard this guy on the radio. Pretty sharp.

Dr. Burns' book, "Feeling Good", will help you do just that. If you have depression, you will see your image clearly in this text.I have found myself wondering if Dr. Burns wrote this book with me in mind. I will read a section and then think to myself, "Sounds good, but that can't possibly work for me because...", only to find the first line of the next section saying, "You are probably thinking that although this sounds good, it can't work for you because..."!I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to rise above depression.The text is easy to understand and full of examples. There are practicle practice exercises and notes of encourangement along the way. Best of all, reading this book has helped me to realize that they way I think can make a difference in the way I feel.I hope this has helped you make a decision about Dr. Burn's book. A psychologist recommended that I read this book, saying that it is highly regarded. I agree!

A very useful book. While depression has been associated with chemical changes in the brain, there is no proof that depression is caused by these changes. It could equally well be that depression is what is making the changes occur, and that we can in fact manage our depression without drugs.

I have personally found this to be the case. With the help of this book I have been able to stop taking antidepressants. I find dealing with the issues that caused my depression to be much more useful than medically treating the symptoms. David Burns offers practical methods of dealing with your sadness and despair without having to endlessly dredge up your past. You can acknowledge your past and its unfairness, while dealing with your depression in the present.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the only type of therapy that has been proven useful in dealing with depression. Burns offers an excellent example, and a much cheaper one than medication for those without health insurance (and a safer one for those with -- after all, the newer drug therapies haven't been around long enough yet for doctors to know about long-term side effects).

I recommend this book most highly.

_The key to emotional enlightenment is the knowledge that only [my] thoughts can affect [my] moods_ David D. Burns M.D.

After studying FEELING GOOD, written by Dr. David D. Burns, M.D., I have learned how to change the way that I think about things. I have also found that I can change my basic values and beliefs. This, according to Dr Burns, is what Cognitive Therapy is about.

To be clear, I feel this is an excellent handbook for anyone with an interest in Cognitive Therapy. I strongly believe that a great number of people can find their life's situation improved by following the exercises prescribed by Dr Burns.

At the same time, I don't know that Cognitive Therapy is a cure for every person who suffers from Clinial Depression. Dr Burns acknowledges this sentiment, writing that it would be unreasonable to expect to improve or recover after reading FEELING GOOD. The research cited in this text clearly indicates that while many people who read FEELING GOOD improved, others needed the additional help of a mental health professional. As a responsible health professional, Dr Burns understands that there are also limits to which a self-directed therapy may apply, _Let's assume that you do NOT have a strong suicidal urge, hallucinations, or symptoms of mania_. he cautions.

For the rest of us who might be helped by a program of self-study in Cognitive Therapy, Dr. Burns provides a comprehensive tool. The first step is to diagnose my moods. A simple test is offered whose psychometric properties are discussed for the benefit of mental health professionals. This test is less important in determining a level of depression as it is in monitoring improvement. Periodic testing will reveal a change in the scores that will act as a positive reinforcement when improving, and will alert that a correction is required when declining.

Before engaging in the exercises, I feel that it is important to understand the principles of Cognitive Therapy as Dr Burns has described them. A first principle is that ALL moods are created by cognitions or thoughts. The second principle is that when I am feeling depressed, my thoughts are distorted, and my thinking process is dysfunctional. Finally, it is the negative thoughts that cause my emotional turmoil and these are ALWAYS containers of gross distortions. The implication is that my depression is probably not based on accurate perceptions of reality but is often the product of mental slippage. The degree to which these principles are accepted will determine the efficacy of Dr Burn's program.

Having taken the leap of faith required by Cognitive Therapy, the procedure is clearly articulated. The first step is to identify the cognitive distortion at work. It might be an overgeneralization, an unrealistic standard, a case of disqualifying the positive or another of the ten cognitive disorders provided by Dr Burns. The next step is to compose a rational response, an objective rebuttal. You won't need to create your own out of thin air because Dr Burns supplies a compendium of examples. Finally, a coping strategy designed to address the difficulty provides a path to relief. Although this brief overview does an injustice to the comprehensive tools presented in this handbook, it conveys the general idea that is common to nearly all of them.

Give it a shot! See if you don't end up feeling a little bit better. There is really not much to lose and perhaps, a great deal to be gained.

My interest is in spiritual matters. It is striking to me that the techniques presented by Dr Burns parallel many spiritual disciplines. In essence a choice is made as to where to apply my faith. Do I believe the circumstance, or my spiritual commitment? The techniques in this handbook have helped me to exercise my choice and strengthen my spiritual life.

PEACE

This is a book by David Burns, a psychiatrists who has treated many depressed patients. The book starts out with a special test you can take to see if you are depressed.

After this test, he shows you some basic concepts on how your depression starts. To answer, the depression starts because you have irrational beliefs that cause you to interpret events as being bad without really thinking about what you are thinking. For example, if lets say your teacher screams at you, you might get depressed because you think you're a worthless, horrible, person who doesn't deserve to live. This belief causes you to feel depressed instead of just disappointed or frustrated.

So, CBT(Cognitve-Behavior Therapy, this books type of therapy)attmepts to make you realized how back your beliefs are by making you draw columns where you state your irrational belief then describe what kind of an irrational belief it is and then write what kind of belief you should have instead. The book has many charts and pictures of techniques of taking away your irrational thoughts such as overgeneralizing things and all-or-nothing thinking.

This book was voted best book on self-help depression a person can buy by over 100 psychologists in the"authoritve guide to self-help books"( I recommend you read it.)

My problem with the book is that it was too long. It was just to long. The book is about 665 pages long. For goddsake, make it atleast 200 pages. I couldn't finish the book, I just skimmed and got a lot of information from that skimming. The book, if short could have been better in the sense that it wouldn't sometimes be so confusing on what means what. Basically, the book needed to be shorter but the content was very good.