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1-Page Summary of Feeling Good

Overview

Feeling Good by Dr. David D. Burns is a self-help book that focuses on cognitive therapy as a way to combat depression and improve moods, especially when used in combination with other therapies (i.e., medication) or alone if necessary. Cognitive therapy is based on the idea that people’s perceptions of themselves, their life situations, and others will shape how they feel about those things; therefore, changing these perceptions can drastically change one’s feelings for the better—even more so than taking medications for depression would do. Research has proven that cognitive therapy often works as well as antidepressants in treating depression symptoms and preventing them from returning after treatment ends. Feeling Good offers an effective strategy for identifying negative thoughts and correcting them using techniques such as mood assessments and targeted writing exercises. Once readers have addressed their distorted thinking patterns, they’ll live happier lives free of depressive symptoms.

A common belief is that external factors will determine an individual’s emotional state. However, cognitive therapy theory states that a person’s emotions are within their control because it’s the result of inaccurate beliefs that create negative feelings. In other words, people shouldn’t blame others for their unhappiness; how they think and feel is always within their control.

Depression is a serious issue that affects many people. People who are depressed can benefit from therapy or on their own by examining the source of their depression and replacing it with more positive thoughts.

Feeling Good was written in 1980 by a publishing company called Morrow.

Key Takeaways

All negative emotions are preceded by thoughts. Negative thinking can distort the way we see reality. Recovering from depression requires consistent efforts to monitor our thoughts and change our perceptions of things. It is helpful to evaluate how you feel on a weekly basis so that you know what changes need to be made in your life.

When you’re depressed, it’s important to think about the thoughts that came before that feeling. There are 10 types of distorted thinking that lead to depression.

Before you feel something, you must understand the situation.

When you’re depressed, it’s easy to get caught in a cycle of negative thoughts. To fight depression, you need to strengthen your self-esteem. One way is by replacing distorted thinking with positive thoughts. If you learn specific strategies for that, then your self-esteem will improve and so will your ability to fend off depression.

For people who suffer from depression, a combination of medication and therapy is often used. However, the key to success lies in the patient’s attitude toward the treatment.

Key Takeaway 1: All emotional states, good and bad, are first preceded by thoughts.

For thousands of years, people have been trying to understand the connection between thoughts and feelings. In recent times, psychiatrists began developing a method for treating depressed patients by targeting negative thinking as a way to heal depressive symptoms. For people to feel anything about something, they must first think about it.

Let’s say that a woman named Janet is dating someone, but he hasn’t proposed to her. She might think negatively about it and begin to feel hopeless about her romantic future. Instead of thinking that there must be something wrong with herself or him, she could take another approach by considering other possible outcomes in the situation.

Over the years, it has become more popular to believe that thoughts can control feelings. This is evident in self-help books like Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Life (1984). In her book, she believes that people can choose positive thoughts and avoid negative ones if they want to feel happy instead of feeling bad.