David D. Burns - Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety

Praise for Feeling Great

BRILLIANT AND POWERFUL!!! This book is pure gold and a breath of fresh air that provides hope and tools to achieve joy and enlightenment. Dr. Burns conveys the message that your suffering as well as your negative thoughts and feelings are not symptoms of mental disorder but instead are the expression of what is most awesome and beautiful about you. Warning: This is not a book in which you just read page after page and expect change in your life. You must do the valuable exercises in order to transform your life radically and rapidly. If you are ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work, this is an outstanding book for you!

Sara Verduzco Shane, LMFT

This latest work of Dr. Burns is absolutely groundbreaking! As a therapist in private practice now regularly utilizing these methods, I am witnessing my patients improve in lasting ways, and at a faster rate than ever before! In a delightful twist, applying these tools to my own life has led me to personal enlightenment that I otherwise never expected was possible. Dr. Burns is a genius, and this latest work is a true gift to all.

Sarah Lionetti Hester, LMFT

Nothing short of amazing! Rapid, effective, drug-free treatment for anxiety and depression has never been so accessible as it is now in Feeling Great. This book actually achieves the ambitious goal of making extremely powerful and effective therapy available, accessible and usable to the general public.

Michael D. Greenwald, PhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist

A must for anyone with depression and anxiety. Feeling Great describes in plain, clear language how we can all live happier, healthier and more successful lives. Dr. Burns is a visionary in the field of mental health and a genius at helping people overcome depression and anxiety.

Matthew May, MD

Im loving Feeling Great. Its an amazing book. I would describe it as Feeling Good times ten!

Christian Anderson

Feeling Great is rich with tools to transform feelings of depression and anxiety into feelings of joy and confidence, no matter your life struggles.

Rhonda Barovsky, LCSW, PsyD

Feeling Great

The Revolutionary New Treatment
for Depression and Anxiety

By David D. Burns, MD

Best-Selling Author of Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy

DISCLAIMER

The ideas and techniques in this book are not intended as a substitution for consultation with a qualified health professional. The names and identifying details of the individuals in this book have been disguised extensively, and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

When I present a vignette (disguised) of someone who is struggling with depression or anxiety, or when I give an example of how a particular technique works, I typically select a positive and encouraging example that shows how that individual recovered. And frequently, I present an example of someone who improved substantially and fairly rapidly. This has the greatest potential for learning and can help create hope, which is essential for healing.

However, you should not take this as a guarantee that the same techniques will be effective for you or for a friend or loved one. We are all unique, and we all respond to different approaches. In addition, while the techniques I describe in this book are powerful, not everyone who reads this book or who seeks professional treatment will experience rapid and dramatic changes.

Some problems that are more severe will require a longer course of treatment. I have never given up on a patient and hope you will never give up on yourself. This philosophy has proven to be tremendously rewarding because a path forward always seems to emerge if you stick with it.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Burns, David D., author.

Title: Feeling great : the revolutionary new treatment for depression and anxiety / by David D. Burns, MD.

Description: Eau Claire : PESI Publishing & Media, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020016121 (print) | LCCN 2020016122 (ebook) | ISBN 9781683732884 (hardback) | ISBN 9781683732891 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Depression, MentalTreatmentPopular works. | AnxietyTreatmentPopular works. | Cognitive therapyPopular works.

Classification: LCC RC537 .B873 2020 (print) | LCC RC537 (ebook) | DDC 616.85/27dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020016121

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020016122

Copyright 2020 by David Burns, MD

All Rights Reserved.

Printed in Canada

Published by

PESI Publishing & Media

PESI, Inc.

3839 White Ave.

Eau Claire, WI 54703

Cover: Amy Rubenzer

Editing: Jenessa Jackson, PhD

Layout: Bookmasters, Amy Rubenzer

ISBN: 9781683732884

pesipublishing.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Obie, my best friend and teacher, who I sadly lost during the fall of 2016, and to Rob, my number one fan!

Table of Contents

I would like to thank many dear colleagues who have helped enormously in the development of TEAM-CBT and in the teaching of my Tuesday evening training group at Stanford, including Jill Levitt, PhD; Matthew May, MD; Helen Yeni-Komshian, MD; and Daniele Levy, PhD.

Thanks also to my esteemed hosts on the weekly Feeling Good podcasts, Drs. Fabrice Nye and Rhonda Barovsky. You may already be a fan of our show, which is free. If you are not familiar with it, check it out on my website (www.feelinggood.com), iTunes, YouTube, or my public Facebook page. It can accelerate your learning if you are a therapist, a patient, or simply a member of the general public interested in self-help for depression and anxiety.

I am also grateful to Mike Christensen who has appeared many times on my weekly podcasts. Mike offers TEAM-CBT teletherapy throughout Canada and offers superb online TEAM-CBT classes for mental health professionals throughout the world.

I have many fabulous colleagues to thank, including the entire group at the Feeling Good Institute in Mountain View, California, as well as several colleagues who provided invaluable help by providing feedback on portions of this manuscript, including Zane Pierce, Daisy Grewal, John Graham, Marilyn Coffee, and Stephen Pfleiderer.

A special thanks to Drs. Brandon Vance, Mark Noble, and Daniele Levy who went through the entire book and provided helpful feedback. I also want to give a shout-out to Linda Jackson, my publisher at PESI, and Jenessa Jackson, the editor of this book. It has been a joy to work with both of you. I am extremely grateful for your brilliant technical guidance and also for your warmth, positivity, and fantastic TEAM work!

I would also like to thank many individuals who have contributed enormously to this book by giving me permission to share their intensely personal stories. Although I have disguised their identities, their stories are real, and they have helped me bring my message to life in an engaging and inspiring way.

Finally, I would like to thank my beloved wife, Melanie, for her love, support, and patience, and for her incredibly awesome and honest guidance and editing of this book!

Introduction:
Then and Now

When we were living in Philadelphia, my wife and I had some carpentry and painting done on our house, which took several weeks. On the last day, Frank, our carpenter, was on his knees at our front door, finishing up the work. As I was walking through the entryway, I noticed that he looked discouraged, so I told Frank that my wife and I had really appreciated the fabulous work hed done to make our house more beautiful and that we were sad that today was his last day.