Book Review | Feeling Good by Dr. David Burns

Being positive is difficult. Our brain will go against us sometimes and feed us thoughts that do not benefit us. This is evident in the way we express ourselves about our job, the thoughts we have when someone cuts us off in traffic, or simply when you see someone walking by in a tacky shirt. I want you to stop and take notice of the thoughts that pop into your head when you are in these situations. Or at least, Dr. David Burns wants you to stop and take notice of your thoughts. Dr. Burns believes that negative thinking is more detrimental than we give it credit for. It leads to a negative outlook on life, which in severe cases, leads to depression. Our thoughts dictate what we feel, and if we consistently think negative thoughts, we will consistently feel negative feelings. When I first read this book in 2018, I was a college graduate struggling to find a job. Waiting tables was once a fun, stress-free way to make money, but began to feel more like my prison as I struggled to find work doing anything else. I felt as if I was in a hole that I could not climb out of. A hole that I dug myself into. One night while scrolling through Reddit, I stumbled on a thread raving about this book. Not just the original poster, but everyone in the comments was praising Feeling Good. I bought it on a whim and have not stopped raving about this book myself.

Feeling Good by Dr. David Burns is a book for anyone having depressive thoughts or for someone who regularly sees the glass half-empty. This book is long, but do not let its length intimidate you. It contains life changing information on how our negative thoughts affect us, as well as information on how to challenge those negative thoughts. This book does an amazing job at helping the reader identify negative thinking patterns, stopping them, and replacing them with thoughts that benefit you. It does not involve lying to yourself or faking a smile through difficult situations. Dr. Burns points out that our thoughts are often wrong or illogical; and it contains writing exercises and strategies that make it easy for the reader to catch these thoughts as they occur. The advice this book provides is practical and effective. When someone has a bad day they can either sulk and feel sorry for themselves, or they can exercise the teachings of this book. Write on a piece of paper what thoughts are present, and rather than feed those negative thoughts, challenge them. The exercise of writing rational responses to those negative thoughts will, alone, make a giant impact on the way a person feels. But this book is filled with strategies like this.

Feeling Good offers practical advice on shifting one's mindset and living a healthier, happier life. It is a good book to keep in your library for those times when life gets hard or managing stress is more difficult than usual. I have read it cover to cover a few times, but even that is not always necessary. Sometimes I just go back to a specific chapter or a certain paragraph that will put things into perspective. Dr. David Burns created gold when he wrote this book and I think everyone can benefit from it.

My Rating: ★★★★★
Get the book here | David D. Burns, M.D.