Feeling Good book by Dr. David D. Burns

Dr. David D. Burns is a well-known American psychiatrist and author, best known for his work in the field of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and self-help. He gained significant recognition for his book "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy," which was first published in 1980. "Feeling Good" presents CBT techniques and strategies that aim to help individuals challenge and change their negative thought patterns, ultimately leading to improved mental well-being.

I really loved this book for its practical approach in handling difficult emotions. It helps to get to the root of the problem. Though, there are many techniques in the book, following are the ones that worked for me:

Identify Cognitive Distortions:

Dr. Burns emphasizes the importance of recognizing and challenging cognitive distortions, which are irrational and negative thought patterns that contribute to feelings of sadness and concern. Identifying these distortions is the first step in resolving them.

Some common distortions include all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralisation, and labeling. The following is the complete list.

1. All-or-Nothing Thinking (Black-and-White Thinking)

2. Overgeneralization

3. Mental Filtering (Focusing only on the Negative)

4. Discounting the Positive

5. Jumping to Conclusions (Mind Reading and Fortune Telling)

6. Magnification and Minimization (Catastrophizing)

7. Emotional Reasoning

8. Should Statements

9. Labeling and Mislabeling

10. Personalization

The Three Column Technique:

This can be a powerful tool for increasing self-awareness, identifying negative thought patterns, and challenging negative thought patterns and replace them with more rational and constructive thinking.

Column 1: Automatic Thoughts In the first column, you write down the automatic negative thoughts that are bothering you- thoughts that pop into your head automatically, often without you consciously choosing them. They can be self-critical, irrational, or pessimistic thoughts.

For example, if you have a test, you may be having thoughts like, "I'll never be able to handle this," or "I'm a failure."

Column 2: Cognitive Distortions In the second column, you identify the cognitive distortions or thinking errors associated with each automatic thought.

Column 3: Rational Responses In the third column, you challenge and reframe the automatic thoughts using more rational, balanced, and constructive thinking. This step involves countering the cognitive distortions identified in Column 2 with more accurate and helpful perspectives. For example, if your automatic thought is, "I'll never be able to handle this," a rational response might be, "I've faced challenges before and found ways to overcome them. I can break this task down into smaller steps and take it one step at a time."

Dearies, the above techniques has been proven to break negative thought patterns and improve emotional well being! Try it if you are feeling blue :)