Ten Days to Self-Esteem, Vol. 1 by David D. Burns, David D. Burns (Introduction)

From the Publisher

Do you wake up dreading the day?
Do you feel ciscouraged with what you've accomplished in life?
Do you want greater self-esteem, productivity, and joy in daily living?

If so, you will benefit from this revolutionary way of brightening your moods without drugs or lengthy therapy. All you need is your own common sense and the easy-to-follow methods revealed in this book by one of the country's foremost authorities on mood and personal relationship problems.

In Ten Days to Self-esteem, Dr. David Burns presents innovative, clear, and compassionate methods that will help you identify the causes of your mood slumps and develop a more positive outlook on life. You will learn that

You feel the way you think: Negative feelings like guilt, anger, and depression do not result from the bad things that happen to you, but from the way you think about these events. This simple but revolutionary idea can change your life!

You can change the way you feel: You will discover why you get depressed and learn how to brighten your outlook when you're in a slump.

You can enjoy greater happiness, productivity, and intimacy—without drugs or lengthy therapy.

Can a self-help book do all this? Studies show that two thirds of depressed readers of Dr. Burns's classic bestseller, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, experienced dramatic felief in just four weeks without psychotherapy or antidepressant medications. Three-year follow-up studies revealed that readers did not relapse but continued to enjoy their positive outlook. Ten Days toSelf-esteem offers a powerful new tool that provides hope and healing in ten easy steps. The methods are based on common sense and are not difficult to apply. Research shows that they really work!

Feeling good feels wonderful. You owe it to yourself to feel good!

Product Details

• ISBN: 0688094554
  
• ISBN-13: 9780688094553
• Format: Paperback, 336pp
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Pub. Date: April 1999
• Edition Description: Reprint
• Sales Rank: 7,549

• Read an Excerpt
• Read a Sample Chapter

Read an Excerpt

What do you think it will take for you to achieve your goals and make some significant changes in your life? What is the key to self-esteem and happiness?

In my clinical practice during the past twenty years, I have had the opportunity to work with many men and women from all walks of life with a wide variety of problems. I have seen people who responded to treatment quickly and others who required a long, persistent effort to recover. I have discovered that one of the most important keys to recovery, regardless of your age, sex, or race, is the willingness to help yourself.

Some people do not seem to understand or accept this simple idea. They are quite happy to complain endlessly about how bad things are as long as they don't have to do anything to solve their problems. They see themselves as victims of unfair circumstances and wait passively for someone or something to fix things for them. Sadly, that usually doesn't happen. Years later they are still feeling miserable, waiting for justice or magic to make their lives better.

Of course, this passive approach to personal growth has sometimes been reinforced by mental health professionals and the media. The stereotype of psychotherapy portrayed in popular books and movies is lying on the couch and saying whatever comes into your mind, while a kindly psychoanalyst listens and nods knowingly from time to time. After years and years, something wonderful is supposed to happen.

Although a warm and caring relationship with someone you trust can often make you feel much better, I want you to get better. That means working hard to make real changes in your life now andin the future.

I have had the pleasure of treating many people through the years who did understand this. They worked hard during sessions and between sessions to develop greater self-esteem. They did not blame the world but assumed personal responsibility for changing their lives. Their hard efforts paid off handsomely, because they recovered the most rapidly. As I mentioned in the Introduction, research studies have demonstrated that self-help does work. This is why I want to ask you right now: Are you willing to pay the price of happiness?

Copyright )1993 by David D. Burns

Ten Days to Self-Esteem. Copyright © by David Burns. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Read a Sample Chapter

What do you think it will take for you to achieve your goals and make some significant changes in your life? What is the key to self-esteem and happiness?

In my clinical practice during the past twenty years, I have had the opportunity to work with many men and women from all walks of life with a wide variety of problems. I have seen people who responded to treatment quickly and others who required a long, persistent effort to recover. I have discovered that one of the most important keys to recovery, regardless of your age, sex, or race, is the willingness to help yourself.

Some people do not seem to understand or accept this simple idea. They are quite happy to complain endlessly about how bad things are as long as they don't have to do anything to solve their problems. They see themselves as victims of unfair circumstances and wait passively for someone or something to fix things for them. Sadly, that usually doesn't happen. Years later they are still feeling miserable, waiting for justice or magic to make their lives better.

Of course, this passive approach to personal growth has sometimes been reinforced by mental health professionals and the media. The stereotype of psychotherapy portrayed in popular books and movies is lying on the couch and saying whatever comes into your mind, while a kindly psychoanalyst listens and nods knowingly from time to time. After years and years, something wonderful is supposed to happen.

Although a warm and caring relationship with someone you trust can often make you feel much better, I want you to get better. That means working hard to make real changes in your life nowand in the future.

I have had the pleasure of treating many people through the years who did understand this. They worked hard during sessions and between sessions to develop greater self-esteem. They did not blame the world but assumed personal responsibility for changing their lives. Their hard efforts paid off handsomely, because they recovered the most rapidly. As I mentioned in the Introduction, research studies have demonstrated that self-help does work. This is why I want to ask you right now: Are you willing to pay the price of happiness?

Copyright )1993 by David D. Burns

Ten Days to Self-Esteem. Copyright © by David Burns. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.