
Ask HN: Cognitive behaviour therapy, tried and tested resources - petecooper
I&#x27;m coming out of an extended spell of mental fog, and I would like to investigate self-administered cognitive behaviour therapy as part of my recovery and treatment. My local health service is running at capacity and so I&#x27;m looking at doing this myself, at least initially, in a responsible fashion.<p>I have a budget for ebooks and online courses. I would be grateful for advice or feedback on what is and is not worth investing time and money in. What works or worked for you or someone you know?<p>Thank you in advance.
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superasn
I have had amazing results with David burns books. As a matter of fact his cbt
exercises in 'feeling good' have helped me so much that I've turned them into
a software for my own personal use. This way I'm able to do his exercises on
the phone / laptop very easily. My bdc score dropped from 20 to 5 in 3 months
just doing that.

If you've read his books I'd be happy to share the link to my website (but it
won't make a lot of sense if you haven't read his book though).

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harshalizee
Turning the exercise into software sounds like a great idea. Do you mind
sharing your website? I have gone through the book and it might be beneficial

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superasn
Sure thing. It's at

[https://www.feelhappy.win](https://www.feelhappy.win)

Unfortunately since I made it for personal use there isn't a lot of
documentation. But most of it would be easy to use if you're read the book

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jasonv
Hi.. :-)

Can't seem to get in, sent an email to your support address, got a "No
mailbox" response.

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superasn
edit: i tried it and everything seems to be working for me. you have to
register first to load the app (just use any throwaway gmail). let me know the
exact issue if you're still having probs.

ohh i guess it's having issues.. this wasnt supposed to be released but I'll
have a look :)

also yeah no support or mailbox but if you have questions just shoot me an
email (hn profile)

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DanBC
The Australian website "mood gym" has an evidence base and is sometimes
recommended by English NHS therapists.
[https://moodgym.com.au/](https://moodgym.com.au/)

The book "Mind over mood" is also recommended by English NHS therapists:
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Over-Mood-Second-
Changing/dp/1...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Over-Mood-Second-
Changing/dp/1462520421/)

The NHS has a page of apps. I don't have much experience with these, but the
page does tell you how they assess apps: [https://www.nhs.uk/apps-
library/category/mental-health/](https://www.nhs.uk/apps-
library/category/mental-health/)

Good luck!

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rancar2
David Burns’ books are very good. Make sure to do the exercise as you go along
to get the full effect. Also if your local health service is full, there are
online options available, which can help complement the self work. This
article is a good overview of the topic:
[https://www.caredash.com/articles/what-is-online-therapy-
and...](https://www.caredash.com/articles/what-is-online-therapy-and-is-it-
right-for-you)

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cmehdy
I had a hard time being convinced by the usual 2/3-pagers that tell you CBT
will change your life and then going straight to "just close your eyes and
breathe and focus on your nose". It irks me to be told what to do and not why.
If your brain works like mine then this suggestion might be useful, otherwise
probably not so much.

I found a used version of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy[1], which is designed
as an introduction and contextualization of mindfulness, aimed at therapists.
Because of that, it gives more details and helped me see behind the curtain,
which is what a lot of therapists don't think about sharing.

An example of that: early on, there is a discussion between the usage of
"client" versus "patient" to refer to the people therapists will help (which
would be you), and their choice of using "patient" \- as it means "one who
bears suffering" -, instead of client - which means "one who puts themselves
under the protection of a patron -, holds the implication the therapists are
there to alleviate suffering.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Psychotherapy-Second-
Chri...](https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Psychotherapy-Second-Christopher-
Germer-ebook/dp/B00DG1H8WS)

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jackgolding
Russel Brand's book and video course were great for me - wasn't particularly
what I needed but really opened my eyes to some of the cognitive distortions I
have.

John Kim's books I also found useful.

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brudgers
[random advice from the internet]

Ask your therapist for recommendations. It's the sort of thing that can be
handled telephonically. Under clinical protocols, it probably adds a contact
note to your chart which will enable follow up or bring a different
practitioner up to speed (possibly, if they actually read your chart). In
short there are not likely to be any downsides to asking...and in a time of
stress, softballs from someone doing well is likely to be a bright spot in the
midst of your therapist's grim regularity. Good luck.

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navd
If you're interested in philosophy, Stoicism might help. A lot of CBT is based
off of stoic principles. In fact the book, "How to Think Like a Roman Emperor"
goes through that history and teaches you some really useful CBT techniques.

