AD25 Keynote 02 - What REALLY Causes Depression and Anxiety? - David Burns, MD
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- Not yet rated
- Topic Areas:
- Keynotes
- Categories:
- Anxiety and Depression Conference 2025
- Faculty:
- David Burns, MD
- Duration:
- 1:00:42
- Format:
- Audio Only
- Original Program Date:
- Sep 27, 2025
- License:
- Never Expires.
Description
Keynote 02 - What REALLY Causes Depression and Anxiety?
For centuries, thinkers have debated a bold claim by Epictetus: that our emotions don’t stem from events, but from our thoughts about them. So—do thoughts cause feelings, or is it the other way around? In this provocative keynote, Dr. David Burns shares groundbreaking findings from a study of nearly 7,000 users of the Feeling Great app. Using cutting-edge assessments and advanced modeling, his team tested the real-time causal links between negative thoughts and feelings. The results may upend conventional wisdom—and transform how we treat depression, anxiety, and self-doubt. You’ll also learn how a rapid, digital intervention can lead to dramatic mood improvement—in minutes.
Educational Objectives:
1. Understand one key teaching of the Greek stoic philosopher, Epictetus.
2. Describe two hotly debated theories about the causal linkages between cognitions (belief in negative thoughts) and feelings.
3. Describe the potential role and limits of an automated digital device in the modification of negative thoughts and feelings.
Credits
Faculty
David Burns, MD Related Seminars and Products
David D. Burns is an adjunct professor emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the author of the best-selling books Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy and The Feeling Good Handbook. Burns popularized Aaron T. Beck's cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) when his book became a best seller during the 1980s.