The good news is that anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and other "black holes" of depression can be cured without drugs. In Feeling Good, eminent psychiatrist, David D. Burns, M.D., outlines the remarkable, scientifically proven techniques that will immediately lift your spirits and help you develop a positive outlook on life. Now, in this updated edition, Dr. Burns adds an All-New Consumer's Guide To Anti-depressant Drugs as well as a new introduction to help answer your questions about the many options available for treating depression.
- Recognise what causes your mood swings
- Nip negative feelings in the bud
- Deal with guilt
- Handle hostility and criticism
- Overcome addiction to love and approval
- Build self-esteem
- Feel good everyday
A CBT-oriented text on self-treating depression. Somewhat helpful, but particularly interesting for some of the quasi-philosophical or even quasi-theological undertones -- for example, rejects any kind of essentialism in favor of a sort of Ockhamist nominalism. Some passages remind me of Nietzsche, for example on pp. 160f. (see snurl.com/burns_p160 for an excerpt) where he says people should learn not to become angry at others for behaving in the way they naturally are inclined to (he even compares lions and sheep, like in Genealogy 1.13 with hawks and lambs), saying we have no reason to condemn the lions for doing what they are born to do. In other words: there are no essences.
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