Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Paperback – Illustrated, 27 Feb. 2025

This is pretty much the original definitive self-help book for anyone suffering from depression and feeling ready to start climbing out through use of refocusing, reframing, challenging old beliefs and thought patterns, and taking control and ownership of the actions required to feel better. Thousands of books have replicated this book in style, tone and content, but none have ever bettered the presentation and sheer volume of information available here.Originally published in 1980, but since updated, the guidance and advice in the book is thorough, engaging, and direct. It clearly demonstrates how to help the reader rationalise their experiences and feelings, and move on to where they want to be in life. The sections on the physical side of depression and realities of pharmacological treatment are the most honest, and therefore genuinely helpful, I've ever read.The book is friendly in tone, but practical and clinical. It's not warm and fuzzy. There's no faux chumminess. It's more like spending time with an experienced psychiatrist who's interested in getting results for you, and supporting you on your journey, but isn't about to be your Facebook friend. The book is American, but the only indications of this are the spellings, the help is applicable to all and the book isn't US-centric in any way.The book does recommend following the companion Feeling Good Handbook. Personally I felt the Handbook was just a cash-in. It repeated the same information as the original book, along with additional exercises. I consider that money wasted and it left a bit of a bad taste after finding this original book so helpful.

This is a lucid, comprehensive, sensitive and thoughtful book. Burns writes as though in private, top-notch consultation with his reader. I felt as though I had just had a full set of CBT sessions for the price of a Kindle download. This book felt like a distillation of decades of scrupulous research into what actually helps depressive heal. It is ideal for people who are sick of being told to explore why they are depressed, as they simply want to stop being depressed. There's no navel-gazing analysis here, just practical tools for improving mood, action, situation and responses in the present, and learning tools and techniques to strengthen your mind against further depression in the future. I'd not come across CBT before, and its practical, thorough, uncondescending approach is extremely appealing.My only criticism is that Kindle needs to sort out how it processes tables and figures. The print size can't be increased within these and I was squinting at the tables which are absolutely crucial to the programme, barely able to make out the words. Buy the print version.

Initially I had ruled out feeling good as being too old. However i have realised this was a mistake and it is a real self-help classic. In addition to providing a good introduction to Cognitive Therapy it has great sections on dealing with perfectionism, breaking free from needing approval and debunking the myth of realistic depression. As a Cognitive Therapist I would recommend this to my patients particularly near the end of therapy. The only reason I give this 4 stars instead of three is I am not sure however helpful the book would be to someone in acute depression. However the research is that self-help books generally are not helpful when you are very depressed and you should seek either CBT, interpersonal therapy, behavioural couples therapy or antidepressant medication. HOWEVER I DO WISH AMAZON WOULD PAY THEIR TAXES AND STOP EXPORTING THEM TO TAX HAVENS!!!

Ecellent book enabling ordinary people to help themselves overcome depression suicide thoughts, helping people repostioning their own internal negative unwanted dialouges, shows us where to focus our better intentions, to create a positive view of self talk, to enable negative self talk to be changed into positive self talk, you can begin to be the master instead of the slave of your own thoughts, lots of usefull insights, all practicioners would benefit from reading this at least once, the author says reading this book on your own, it can be a good present for someone who is down and out, as it is capable of enabling self healing from many negatives of societies teaching from victim, self victimising through self esteem towards self reliance & self respect, I loved this book and have recommended it to several people colleagues and patients. it can re-empower self. you can do the same, then practice makes perfect, PS It can enable self healing ,read it fully and practice the insights. to pull yourself off the downward spiral and create an upwards spiral,its never toolate to change, bad to good. change your moods into self reliance.good luck, T A P