Why Your Negative Thoughts Aren’t the Truth—And How to Break Free

Millions struggle with depression and anxiety—often feeling trapped in painful thoughts like “I’m not good enough,” “I’ll never be happy,” or “I’m a failure.” But what if these thoughts aren’t true? What if they’re just distorted reflections of how we feel in the moment?

Dr. David Burns, Stanford professor and author of Feeling Good and Feeling Great, has spent decades helping people dismantle these distortions and reclaim their joy—without medication. His method, TEAM-CBT, empowers individuals to challenge their thinking, reduce suffering, and recover rapidly, often in just a session or two.

Here’s what we learned from his groundbreaking approach:

Your Emotions Are Not Facts

Depression and anxiety often come with intense self-criticism. But those thoughts—“I’m worthless,” “I’m broken,” “Nothing will ever change”—are distortions, not facts. They feel 100% real in the moment, but they’re fueled by flawed thinking patterns like:

• All-or-nothing thinking – “If I’m not perfect, I’m a total failure.”
• Fortune-telling – “This will definitely go badly.”
• Emotional reasoning – “I feel hopeless, so my situation must be hopeless.”

One Simple Practice That Can Change Everything

Dr. Burns teaches a deceptively simple but powerful tool:

• Take a sheet of paper.
• Draw a line down the center.
• On the left, write your negative thoughts.
• On the right, challenge them with more realistic ones.

You’ll start to see how often your pain is rooted not in reality—but in how you’re interpreting it.

Feedback Makes Better Healing

Burns trains therapists to measure progress in every session—with scales tracking depression, anxiety, anger, and more. He even asks patients to grade his empathy. Why? Because good intentions aren’t enough. Only by tracking what works can we truly heal.

The Tools Are Free—and They Work

Dr. Burns’s self-help books (Feeling Good, Feeling Great) have helped millions recover. Even better:

• The Feeling Great app offers relief in as little as two hours.
• His website, FeelingGood.com, is packed with free tests, tools, and live therapy sessions.
• You don’t need to wait for therapy—you can start transforming your mindset today.

You’re Not Broken—You’re Just Believing Lies

The truth? You’re not hopeless. You’re not a lost cause. You’ve just been hypnotized by your own thoughts. But thoughts can be questioned—and transformed.

Start small. Write down one negative thought. Ask, “Is this absolutely true?” and “What’s a kinder, more accurate way to see this?” It might feel awkward at first. That’s okay. You’re building a new mental muscle.

And remember: you deserve to feel good—because feeling good isn’t a reward. It’s a skill you can learn.