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Welcome to the Feeling Good Blog.

There are many posts here that can help you change the way you think and feel. To get you started, I’ve picked out a few that you might like, beginning with self-esteem. Most of us wouldn’t mind having more self-esteem. But what is, and how can you get more of it?

Check out the four posts on self-esteem!

The Secrets of Self Esteem—A Four-Part Series

We all want greater self-esteem.
But what IS “self-esteem”? And how can I get it?

Part 1: “I should be better than I am!”

When you’re experiencing low self-esteem, you’ll be giving yourself negative messages, like these:

  • “I should be better than I am.”
  • “Ugh! What’s the point in getting out of bed!”
  • “I’m a failure.”
  • “I’m inferior–there’s really nothing special about me.”
  • “What if I’m unloveable?”
  • “I shouldn’t have screwed up!”
  • “I’m defective.”
  • “I’m hopeless. Things can never change!”

Although these messages may feel and seem totally valid when you’re feeling depressed, they’re not. Depression is the world oldest con. And when you change the way you THINK you can change the way you FEEL!

Check out Part 1 here!

Part 2: “I should be better than I am!”

In this blog, you’ll learn about the ten common cognitive distortions that I first published in my book, Feeling Good. For each distortion, like All-or-Nothing Thinking, there’s a negative version (“I’m a loser”) and positive version (“I’m a winner.”) Negative distortions cause feelings like depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, inferiority, worthlessness, inadequacy, loneliness, hopelessness, frustration and anger. 

Positive distortions cause habits and addictions, relationship conflicts, narcissism, mania, racism, and violence. Positive distortions are much harder to challenge than negative distortions because they make you feel SO GOOD! So, people with positive distortions often have little or no motivation to change. 

Does recovery from depression mean that we should try to be happy all the time? In this lesson, you will also learn about the differences between healthy and unhealthy negative feelings.

Click here to read Part 2!

Part 3: Defeating All-or-Nothing Thinking

In this blog, you will learn about Ned, a Stanford graduate student who’d been struggling with severe mood problems for many years. Ned felt hopeless and discouraged because the benefits from his previous treatments with medications and conventional therapy were minimal at best. Although your life may be very different from Ned’s, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve had negative thoughts like his—beating up on yourself with shoulds and shouldn’ts and telling yourself that things will never change. You will learn about the TEAM-CBT techniques that brought about dramatic improvement in a single session.

Click here to read Part 3!

Part 4. The Death of the Ego
In this blog, you’ll learn about “needs” vs. “wants.” We often tell ourselves that we “need” something like love, approval, or great achievement to be happy or worthwhile. Recovery from depression actually involves the “Great Death” of the self, and a letting go of the need to be “special.” Two thoughtful and brilliant colleagues, Dr. Taylor Chesney and Dr. Jill Levitt, comment on this blog.
Click here to read Part 4!

Some More Blogs You Might Like!

These Blogs on Antidepressants May be Disturbing / Caution Advised.

Here are Some of the Most Popular Blogs of 2019.

And Here are the BEST by FAR!

The most amazing blogs feature real live therapy sessions with individuals who recovered from severe depression and anxiety in a single TEAM-CBT therapy session. Most of these are 90 to 120-minute sessions broken up into several consecutive podcasts with commentaries. I will simply list the first part of each session here.

These podcasts are strongly recommended for therapists and the general public alike. You will learn a ton that you can use in your clinical work and in your own personal self-help journey. They will require considerable time and concentration, but will inspire you and may change your life! 

Topic Title
Marital Difficulties 96: Live Session with Lee,
“Why is my wife trying to control me?”
Depression / Guilt / Parenting Problems 29: Live Session with Mark,
“I feel like a failure as a father.”
Depression, Anxiety, Inadequacy, Anger 79: Live Therapy with Daisy,
What’s the Secret of a “Meaningful” Life?
Trauma, PTSD 137: Live Therapy with Sherrie
Rapid Trauma Treatment
Social / Performance Anxiety 142: Live Therapy with Rhonda,
Performance Anxiety
Extreme depression, anxiety, and anger / horrific trauma 49: Live Therapy with Marilyn,
Part 1, The Dark Night of the Soul

These are just a tiny portion of the immense free resources for you right here at www.feelinggood.com. Thank you for visiting! If you like what you see and hear, please tell your friends. Word of mouth is still my most valuable resource!

Or, if you really want to help, and you’re a member of any mailing list, please send the link to my home page or the link to the list of Feeling Good Podcasts to the people on your list. 

Remember, on any given day, roughly 30% of all the people in the world are experiencing elevated feelings of depression, anxiety, inadequacy, or anger. So, people on any kind of mailing list can benefit greatly. Since nearly all of the resources at www.feelinggood.com are free, you’ll be doing them a favor, and you’ll be helping me at the same time.

David Burns, MD

Download a chapter of my new book, Feeling Great

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