Feeling Good
Feeling Good by David Burnsby David Burns
Shares rank 4 of 22 self-help books by recommenders
People recommend it for its step-by-step cognitive behavioral therapy exercises for low mood, and say the exercises and explanations helped them directly.
People recommend it for its step-by-step cognitive behavioral therapy exercises for low mood, and say the exercises and explanations helped them directly.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Step-by-step CBT exercises for mood
“The exercises in it, and the explanation of false labeling we do that causes us problems, are very helpful IMO.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: How to Be Alone?” “the CBT approach that is explained in Feeling Good/Feeling Great is exactly how you do this”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Why Stoicism is one of the best mind hacks ever devised” “It has the exact step by step process that you're looking for.”
Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “How do you "step through" your own anxiety?” - Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “IP blocking the UK is not enough to comply with the Online Safety Act”
Cognitive therapy seen as effective
“modern psychotherapy, like Cognitive Therapy which he advocates, has now begun to surpass the effectiveness of anti-depressants”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants” “the CBT approach that is explained in Feeling Good/Feeling Great is exactly how you do this”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Why Stoicism is one of the best mind hacks ever devised”
Other self-help books people recommend
The four most recommended other self-help books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie | 67 | 25 | 73% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Atomic Habitsby James Clear | 20 | 2 | 91% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Easy Way to Stop Smokingby Allen Carr | 9 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Feeling Goodby David BurnsThis page | 8 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| The Art of Money Gettingby P.T. Barnum | 8 | 6 | 57% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Regularly recommended on HN by folks”
“The exercises in it, and the explanation of false labeling we do that causes us problems, are very helpful IMO.”
“It has the exact step by step process that you're looking for.”
“modern psychotherapy, like Cognitive Therapy which he advocates, has now begun to surpass the effectiveness of anti-depressants”
“the CBT approach that is explained in Feeling Good/Feeling Great is exactly how you do this”
“read the following book cover to cover, do all the exercises”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.