Book · 1980
Feeling Good
by David D. Burns
David Burns hands depressed readers a list of ten named thinking errors and a worksheet to catch themselves making one.
What does Reddit think of Feeling Good?
Seventy-three mentions across ten subreddits, and the split is the interesting part. r/CPTSD carries the largest share, nineteen mentions, and comes out the flattest of the bunch. r/getdisciplined and r/selfimprovement carry less volume but read warmer: someone mid-read on r/selfimprovement (↑317) says it's helping with 'crippling feelings' before they've finished it, and r/getdisciplined keeps pointing depressed or anxious posters to it by name (↑193, ↑151, ↑87). Eight mentions land in r/therapists, which is a different kind of endorsement than a stranger recommending a book to another stranger. None of the visible quotes engage with Burns' actual cognitive-distortion checklist by name; it gets recommended as a category, cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, more than for its specific exercises. The trauma-focused crowd isn't as sold as the productivity-and-self-improvement crowd, and the data doesn't hide that gap.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, in book form
- · Naming and catching your own cognitive distortions
- · Self-worth untangled from productivity or achievement
- · A book clinicians recommend, not just patients
Common praise
- + A reader mid-book on r/selfimprovement (↑317) says it's already helping with 'crippling feelings' before they've finished it.
- + r/getdisciplined repeatedly points depressed or anxious posters straight to it by title (↑193, ↑151, ↑87).
- + Eight mentions in r/therapists suggest clinicians are recommending it to clients, not just patients trading it among themselves.
Common criticism
- − r/CPTSD holds the largest share of mentions, nineteen, and comes out the flattest; the trauma-focused crowd isn't as sold as the self-improvement crowd is.
- − None of the visible endorsements name a specific cognitive-distortion technique from the book; it gets recommended as a category, CBT for depression, more than for its actual content.
Who it's for
Getting pointed to this book on Reddit usually means someone already flagged your post as depression or anxiety, not ordinary procrastination; that's the getdisciplined and selfimprovement pattern. Clinicians show up in the data too, which is a different kind of signal than a stranger's recommendation. Already tried CBT and found the framework itself underwhelming? r/CPTSD's flatter numbers might track closer to your experience than the enthusiasm everywhere else in this sample.
Mentions over time
Which Reddit comments matter for Feeling Good?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I'm in the middle of reading David Burns' Feeling Good: New Mood Therapy and it's really helping me a lot with similar crippling feelings and I'm not even a third of the way in yet. What he says is that we mistakenly believe that all of our feelings about things are real and based on objective tru…
“Try checking out the book Feeling Good by David Burns. It's about cognitive behavioral therapy for depression BUT it says this phenomenon is extraordinarily common. And it gives you some strategies to deal with it. Including, saying "I'm going to do this task IN SPITE of you asking me." It's basical…
“Hey there! I’d recommend therapy if you can. There’s also a book I found quite helpful, called Feeling Good by David Burns. What I will say is, even as you admit, a lot of your thinking may not be entirely accurate. For example, you HAVE accomplished lots of things in the past 6 years. Even writing…
“"Feeling Good" by Dr. David Burns. Here it is for free.:)
“All the things you mentioned are things that can change. I urge you to sign up for David Burns' free online depression course at feelinggood.com It's easy: no tests, no exams. Just receiving an email every 2 days with things like a short video to watch. And/or read one of…
“Honestly, Feeling Good by David Burns made the biggest difference in my life
“Just my tuppence: I read Feeling Good by David Burns and applied the "three column technique" to rid myself of some horrifying thinking patterns as regarded my view of certain *current situations* that I was ruminating over destructively. I …
“Hi I'm actually reading this book called "Feeling Good: The new Mood therapy " I haven't read much yet around 10% of the book and so far the author is basically telling the reader the same thing and I get it your mind does distort your perception especially when your in a bad mood / depressed etc. …
“* Feeling good, by D Burns (when I was dealing with depression( * The Power to be Disliked * The Subtle Art of not Giving a F***
“Exactly this. Read Feeling Good (Burns), Mind over Mood (Greenberger) and The Mindful Path to self compassion (Christopher Germer). The first two are really great self-CBT books and the last one is really the core of what my therapist taught me. Burns got me out of severe depression. Practice and th…
“Since you like reading, start with: Feeling good by David Burns No one is unmotivated or procrastinates without a reason. We are creative by default, unless there is something internally wrong with us. For that you read: How to finish everything you started by Jan Yager Apart from reading, try t…
“Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can really help with this, the book Feeling Good by David D Burns really helped me op. best wishes.
“Feeling Good by David Burns made me realize there was a “cure” for my depression (there is no permanent cure but there are CBT techniques that make living as a human 1000x easier). And, you could argue, literally changed my life because it is the main reason why I went back to school to become a cou…
“Another tip I picked up from Dr David Burns in his book Feeling Good that has got me through so many difficult projects. Just do it for five minutes. If I have something I'm avoiding I will schedule just five minutes work on it. It feels doable and not overwhelming. I often do more, but even if …
“I recommend the book "Feeling Good" by Dr. David Burns. Great self-lead introduction to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which is one of the leading non-medication treatments for depression.
Convinced? Pick up Feeling Good
Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with Feeling Good — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring Feeling Good
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Feeling Good — frequently asked
What does Reddit think of Feeling Good by David Burns?+
Positive overall, but unevenly so. r/getdisciplined and r/selfimprovement show the warmest reception, including one reader saying it's helping with 'crippling feelings' mid-read (↑317). r/CPTSD contributes the most mentions, nineteen, but reads the flattest of any subreddit in the sample.
Is Feeling Good actually useful for depression, according to Reddit?+
The visible endorsements say yes. r/getdisciplined alone points depressed or anxious posters to it by title in at least three separate threads (↑193, ↑151, ↑87). None of those quotes engage with a specific technique from the book; it's recommended as a category, cognitive behavioral therapy, more than for its particular exercises.
Do therapists recommend Feeling Good to their clients?+
The data suggests some do. Eight mentions land in r/therapists specifically, a subreddit where the audience is clinicians rather than patients. That's a different kind of citation than a stranger recommending a self-help book to another stranger on r/getdisciplined.
Does r/CPTSD like Feeling Good as much as other self-improvement subreddits?+
Not quite. r/CPTSD generates the single largest share of mentions in this dataset, nineteen, but its sentiment reads flatter than r/getdisciplined or r/selfimprovement, both of which lean clearly positive. The trauma-focused crowd engages with the book without embracing it as fully.