Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Author: David D., M.D. Burns | Language: English | ISBN:
0380731762 | Format: EPUB
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Description
Review
"A book to read and re-read!" --
-- Los Angeles Times About the Author
David D. Burns, M.D., a clinical psychiatrist, conveys his ideas with warmth, compassion, understanding, and humor unmatched by any other writer in the self-help field. His bestselling Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy has sold more than three million copies to date. In a recent national survey of mental health professionals, Feeling Good was rated number one—from a list of more than one thousand—as the most frequently recommended self-help book on depression. His Feeling Good Handbook was rated number two in the same survey.
Dr. Burns's entertaining teaching style has made him a popular lecturer for general audiences and mental health professionals throughout the country as well as a frequent guest on national radio and television programs. He has received numerous awards including the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology Through the Media Award from the Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology. A magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College, Dr. Burns received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is currently clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine and is certified by the National Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
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- Paperback: 736 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Rev Upd edition (April 6, 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0380731762
- ISBN-13: 978-0380731763
- Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
It's now been a little over a year since I read this book. That seems like a good time to review it; better than in the first couple of weeks, when I had a tremendous boost of happiness and feeling at peace with myself and the world. (I felt as if I had just been at a 10 year Buddhist retreat!). And better than in the months after, when I was disappointed and discouraged that the initial empowerment had worn off and I was still indeed depressed, anxious and insecure much of the time.
To be clear: I absolutely don't believe there will ever be a book in this world that can "cure" long standing depression or anxiety. No matter what any studies show (though incidentally, the ones on this book are pretty encouraging.) Those wonderful newly gained insights and skills don't have the power to obliterate what the brain has had decades to learn and get good at. That's continuous work.
(To those who find the CBT attitude towards "dwelling" on childhood trauma too dismissive for their situation, I recommend the book "Reinventing Your Life", which is based on Schema Therapy.)
So where did Feeling Good fit in for me?
One thing I'm deeply grateful for is the tools it's given me to cope with each thing that drags me down - specifically, the 3 column writing exercise. More often than not, I just don't do it when I'm upset. I'll feel too discouraged to have faith in the process, or I'd rather distract myself with tv and self soothing than "deal". But when I do it, it's never once failed to make me feel a lot more balanced, a lot more in control, a lot less overwhelmed. It's as if as soon as I start working on my counter-points, I begin to step outside of the ring of fire of my own ruminations.
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