Feeling Good by David D. Burns is one of the most popular and influential self-help books ever written. First published in 1980, it has sold over 4 million copies worldwide and has been translated into multiple languages. But what many people may not know is that the original version of Feeling Good was quite different from the book we know today.
The Origins of Feeling Good
In the late 1970s, David D. Burns was a practicing psychiatrist in Philadelphia. He was treating patients with depression and anxiety using cognitive therapy, a form of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and changing distorted thinking patterns. At the time, cognitive therapy was relatively new and not widely known or used compared to other therapeutic approaches like psychoanalysis.
As he treated more patients, Burns began developing a set of principles and tools aimed at helping people recognize negative thoughts and replace them with more balanced, realistic thinking. He compiled these methods into a manual that he used with his patients. The techniques were highly effective at reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Encouraged by his success, Burns decided to adapt the manual into a self-help book that would allow readers to learn cognitive therapy skills on their own. He contacted several publishers with his book proposal, emphasizing that cognitive therapy had been shown to be as effective as antidepressant medication in clinical research.
The Original Self-Published Version
After receiving rejections from mainstream publishers, Burns decided to self-publish the book in 1980 under the title Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. The cover featured simple black text on a blue background.
This original self-published version of Feeling Good was about 200 pages long and more of an instruction manual than a typical self-help book. It contained specific cognitive therapy techniques like the Daily Mood Log and described how to apply them. There was minimal introductory or explanatory information about depression.
Burns printed a small run of just a few hundred copies. He did not have a major marketing budget and initially sold copies by taking orders through the mail. His expectations were modest, hoping the book would generate interest in cognitive therapy among other mental health practitioners.
Revisions and Mainstream Publication
To Burns’ surprise, the self-published book quickly garnered attention and excellent reviews. Readers were learning the techniques, applying them on their own, and experiencing dramatic improvements in conditions like depression and anxiety. Many psychiatrists began using Feeling Good with their patients.
However, reviewers felt the book would benefit from being made more user-friendly for the average reader. It contained a lot of specialized terminology from psychology and assumed a higher level of baseline knowledge than most lay readers possessed.
Encouraged by the positive response, Burns revised the book to broaden its accessibility. He added more explanatory information, toned down the academic language, and inserted stories and examples to illustrate concepts. The revised book was picked up by a major publisher, William Morrow and Company, and released in 1981 under the title Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.
This new version became the definitive Feeling Good edition recognized today. It implemented important changes like:
- Adding more background on depression and mental health
- Increasing coverage of anxiety conditions besides depression
- Providing more how-to instructions and tips for the lay reader
- Including inspiring quotes, sayings, and scripture passages
- Inserting examples and dialogues demonstrating the techniques
These changes made the book much more relatable and strengthened its message that the average person could learn to apply clinical techniques on their own to improve mental health.
Impact and Influence
The newly revised Feeling Good became a groundbreaking success, selling over 4 million copies to date. It helped popularize cognitive behavioral therapy around the world and made it more accessible outside of professional settings.
Feeling Good is credited with several important impacts:
- Introducing cognitive therapy principles to the general public
- Empowering people to improve their mental health and treat mood disorders by changing thinking patterns
- Reducing stigma around mental health treatment and therapy
- Launching the self-help psychology genre aimed at giving clinical techniques directly to lay readers
- Influencing later bestselling self-help books and authors
- Complementing medical and pharmaceutical treatments for conditions like depression
The book continues to sell well 40 years after its release. It is often recommended by mental health professionals as an adjunct to therapy sessions. Millions credit Feeling Good with providing life-changing relief from depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and relationship issues.
While the core cognitive therapy content remains applicable today, newer editions have added some modern updates. But the original techniques and principles that made Feeling Good so successful and influential can still be traced back to the first self-published version from 1980.
Conclusion
Feeling Good has had a remarkable evolution from an instruction manual for professionals to one of history’s most popular and impactful self-help books. The original self-published edition focused narrowly on teaching specific cognitive therapy techniques. Revisions opened the book up to general readers by adding context, explanations, examples, and an empowering message. While the core content has remained substantively the same, these changes enabled Feeling Good to spread its influence wider and become the life-changing classic it remains today.