Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy - Book Report/Review Example

Source Number/ The Good, the Bad and the Awesome in David D. Burns’ Feeling Good: The NewMood Therapy Depression is now seen as a disorder and many Americans both young and old suffer from it. Symptoms and signs that accompany depression include but are not limited to: Anxiety, Guilt, Negative feelings, Procrastination, Lack of Motivation, and Low Self-esteem. Many Americans pay hundreds of dollars for anti-depressants and professional therapy but luckily there is a way for these maladies to be treated without the need for medication or frequent visits to a psychologist or psychiatrist. Curing depression using self-help books is nothing new, but Dr. David D. Burns’ Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy proves otherwise. Many have read the book and were surprised on how practical and easy the tips are to follow and they have conquered their depression through the useful advice written in the pages of the book. Let us then try to evaluate the ethical messages contained in the book and see for ourselves what makes this self-help book a success in dealing with depression. I. The Good The book Feeling Good embanks its reader on the trail to eliminating depression in people though cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy is also called “Thinking therapy” because it aims to change the view of the patient from a negativistic perspective to a more positive, and self-affirming one. The book starts out by engaging and exposing the readers to Cognitive therapy and all the relevant research and theories that support or led to the creation of cognitive therapy as a technique in treating mood disorders. Chapter one discusses how we can categorize or “diagnose” our moods and understand it. This approach emphasizes that the self must first acknowledge that there is a problem, before prescribing any cure for the cure would not be effective if the self doesn’t realize that there is a problem that needs to be treated in the first place. Then in Chapter two, Dr. Burns discusses how to practically apply the concepts and theories stated in chapter one. He starts by encouraging the reader to build his/ her own self-esteem though focusing on the positives and seeing the negatives as learning points and not drawbacks. Then he targets procrastination and idleness, for these in practice do not make a person see his/ her own value but diminishes it because tasks are not done properly and on time – resulting to subpar work which can be translated to a subpar person. Then he tackles the right attitude in dealing with criticism, anger and guilt which is actually extant in everyday life. He implied that self-image and self-worth should never be tied with what other people are telling you. The patient or reader has every right to filter through the feedbacks he or she receives from others and he/she can and has the power to change himself/herself if he/she wanted to. Anger as much as possible should be controlled and should not be directed to one’s self, for self-directed anger can result to a lowered self-esteem and even guilt for enjoying the pleasures of life. The 3rd chapter of the book differentiates legitimate emotions of sadness, or melancholy from clinical depression. While chapter four tackles how to prevent depression at its onset. In this chapter Dr. Burns tells the readers that self-worth should not be tied up with the clamor for other’s affection or approval, nor should it be equated to one’s accomplishments. Self-worth is intrinsic to a person and no external factor should ever take that away from anyone. The author also reminds the readers to strive to be better but not to overdo it as to burden one’s self with the unnecessary load of perfectionism. We must embrace our flaws for that makes us humans but we should acknowledge that these flaws are not permanent but they can be changed for the better. Everyone has the power to mold his/herself into the person that he/she wants to be. It just takes conscious and consistent effort of picking up one’s self and continuing on towards the achievement of one’s goal. Chapters five and six discuss about suicide prevention and living life one day at a time. Hopelessness can be overwhelming sometimes which makes people want to just end their life but the author reminds the readers to focus on what is good. Every day we might encounter problems but if the focus of our minds is on what is beautiful, what is pleasing to ourselves and to others – the little things and glimpses in time where we are happy, we will have hope that the next day would bring these pleasures again and for that our lives must continue. The last chapter deals about psychoactive medication and the different options there are in the market. It is really good that this part was included because some patients don’t even question the necessity of the drugs that they intake. Making this part is crucial to allowing the patient total control over his/ her treatment and what he/she can expect during the course of the treatment. The mind and the body are more connected than we can possibly imagine and what our bodies feel also shows in our moods. So taking care of our bodies and knowing what goes in and out of it can give a person the right foundation in counteracting his/her depression. II. The Bad There are only a few things that can be considered bad about the book. The main concern that I had was that the book was thick and intimidating to look at. But when I opened it, it was really a light read and quite funny at times too taking away from the initial stress of having to read a really big book. Also, as a high school student, there are some concepts that I can’t fully grasp because it was beyond my level like in the first chapter where the book discusses about theories and stuff. In some points it became boring and monotonous but when I got through the 1st chapter, understanding the book and reading it became a bit easier. There are also some vocabulary words that I had to look up in the dictionary but yes, the book might not have been originally meant for high school students so that is understandable. III. The Awesome All in all, I give the book Feeling Good a green light because it made me understand and see depression a lot clearer and also taught me some things about myself. Being a teen, I’m really self-conscious about my image and how my peers see me but after reading the book, I gained a new perspective on how I should see myself and how I should give importance to who I really am and that nothing should make me depressed because I still have a lot to live for. Giving importance to the power of one’s self is awesome because you really realize your own potentials and see that you can achieve anything you put your heart and mind into. However, I think the book was lacking in the aspect of including the person’s environment and support group in the healing process. Most books on treating depression has a section about finding a support group – which can be one’s own family, friends or even others that are experiencing the same depression like you. I am a fan of the dynamics of group therapy but I did not see its role mentioned in the book. I recommend this book for my pears especially those that have issues with themselves and how they would fit in our society. I also recommend this book for people who are struggling with depression because the messages contained in the book is not really that radical but they are true and very, very applicable. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy is a very good read, and I might read it again especially if I need a boost in my self-esteem. Work Cited Burns, David D. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and Edited. Avon Books. Harper Colins Publishers, New York, 1999. Read More