The Feeling Good Handbook
by David D. Burns
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Book Reviews of The Feeling Good Handbook
Book Review: Feeling Good Handbook
Summary: 4 Stars
The "Feeling Good Handbook" is a book that contains information that you are required to use on a consistent basis if you want to see positive results ...it is as useful as (if not better than) "The Power of Positive Thinking" book by Norman Vincent Peale. The cognitive approach has to be constantly used on a daily basis in order for the methods to work for you..much like positive thinking. That's it in a nutshell. As with anything else...once you stop using the cognitive approach you slip back into a depression and your old thoughts come back again...I gave the book four stars because it certainly works better then most approaches I have tryed in the past..and it works deeper then positive thinking alone because it penetrates your subconsious by cleaning out all the junk in your mind such as negative thinking, hostilities, bitterness, losses, etc... and reprograms your mind with new positive information and a new "thought" data base. I also gave the book a high mark because I think Dr. David Burns genuinely cares about people and he has excellent knowledge about human behavior, psychology, and theories which seem to work well when used on a consistent basis..I can never overemphasize that word strongly enough! Once again.... it is like working out in a gym... in order to see results you have to keep exercising on a persistent basis ...you have to stay on top of the therapy everyday and that can get very boring...you can only read the book so many times and use the information until you get bored with it or frustrated then you either go back to your old ways of thinking or you try something else...Book Review: Eases the negative thoughts through a new method of thinking
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm 33 years old and have had a nervousness around people, especially people with genuine negativity about them. It got to the point where negative people could control me through my own guilt. And that caused me to try to cut through to my own happiness, but all I was doing was trying to generate happiness off from my own negative thoughts.This book allowed me to slowly do away with my negative thought path one thought at a time, until I made my way all the way back to the beginning, and realized that my whole problem was that I was very sympathetic at a very young age, and didn't know what to do when the situation around me "wasn't right", which caused me to be afraid, and I never really learned to deal with it effectively. As a result, I allowed myself to be around and be deeply affected by negativity. All this time that childhood fear and anxiety has lurked in me, and this book is helping me to argue that fear away.
I very seriously recommend this book to anyone who is trying to solve their own problems by thinking things through and is admittedly just making things worse for themselves. If you are willing to make a change for yourself, trust me, this book does not make you conform to anything but your own most positive potential. That might not be easy for some to believe, but at least give it a try!
Book Review: NOT for the clinically depressed!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
Briefly,
It offends me that so many people believe that depression is something that can be controlled or cured with a change in thought patterns. Depression is not a result of negative thinking, it is a biological, chemical disorder that plagues millions of Americans, most of which have tried absolutely everything they can to rid themselves of it.
I have battled debilitating depression for my entire adult life. Anyone who has been there knows the devastating feeling of, "What more can I do??" Personally, I have done everything under the sun to feel better, including A LOT of cognitive behavioral therapy and work on my past. However, you cannot will clinical depression away, or nobody would ever stay in that much pain for long! No one would ever choose to stay depressed.
Dr. Burns is just encouraging the belief that the clinically depressed are just too weak or lazy to get themselves out of it. You would think a medical doctor would know better. Instead, authorities like him reinforce the negative stigma, making it even more difficult for those living with a mental illness. How disappointing.
See a psychiatrist, get counseling, and AVOID this book!
Book Review: Effectively disentangling the distortions in one's mind
Summary: 5 Stars
Hat's off to Dr. Burns for having written a very practical guide anyone can use to combat depression and build positive self esteem. For years I have been in therapy, but I have realized that positive change all comes down to me. Burns provides the simplistic, yet highly effective tools to work through one's distortions on a daily basis. As he emphasizes, merely reading the book will not help. It is reading, understanding, but most importantly, DOING the exercises on paper that will produce results. Burns writes at a gut level. I don't think there is one page that is useless or irrelevant. Most striking is the author's genuine compassion for the reader. He sincerely wants you to succeed !!! I have often found this lacking in most self-help books. Their authors seem more interested in giving the reader a one shot "pep- booster", but fail to provide exercises that will promote lasting results. I have read many self help books concerning depression and self esteem, but this particular one is the "leader of the pack" as far as I am concerned. Buy it, Read it and Do the exercises!!!!Book Review: Truly helpful
Summary: 5 Stars
I won't write a novel here, but I wanted to say a few things about this book. I have started countless self-help books over the years, only to get bored and never finish them. This is the first one that I have read cover to cover and it has made the most sense to me. Many of the situations and case studies he describes relate directly to me, and it made me feel like I was not alone in my self-esteem issues. A few times I was overcome with emotion, feeling like for the first time, someone truly understood how I felt, that I was not the only person in the world who processed thoughts this way, and was there to help me make changes that would improve my quality of life.
I highly recommend this workbook version (there is a regular book), as the exercises make all the difference if you take the time to do them. I can't say I'm a totally new person, but my way of thinking and perceiving has altered for the better. It's a long process...a ship doesn't turn on a dime in the ocean. This is an excellent place to start.
Try it, and take the first step to a better life.