Have you ever felt lost? Like you have no purpose or that you’re stuck in your own life? Don’t have a concrete solution for your issues? Self-help books are here for you! By following these five easy steps you’ll be free of anxious thoughts!
Doesn’t this sound lovely? SO easy and SO efficient… but does it actually work?
Self-help books give a universal solution for subjective and specific issues that affect your own daily life. Of course, that doesn’t mean the author’s advice and steps aren’t beneficial or did not help at least themselves. However, many self-help book readers tend to see these texts as their “Bible”, meaning they follow word by word and don’t take into account the personal side of their issues. Because of this, the huge amount of self-help books that are being sold can put these readers in danger, especially because they most likely don’t check who the writer is and what kind of certifications they have, to know if they are qualified enough to give such sensitive pieces of advice.
Dr Paula Robinson, psychologist, CEO of APPLI, and Managing Director of the Positive Psychology Institute says the self-help genre is so popular because ever since ancient times we, as humans, have been interested in improving the self and will always have an interest in the human condition. In contrast, this may mean that nowadays, stuck in our continuous search for being better we forget to filter the advice we get and introspect rather than search for answers from others.
“Given we now see statistics suggesting 1 in 7 primary school children, 1 in 4 adolescents, and 1 in 5 workers are suffering mentally, self-help can be far too general when many people need something more specific for them and someone qualified to give that help. You wouldn’t go to a doctor and say you are unwell and expect him to give you something that hadn’t been tried and tested scientifically. Therefore, those people who write these books that have no real qualifications in the particular topic, have no idea what might harm a person — you don’t know what you don’t know,” Dr Robinson says.
Another problematic issue with self-help books, believes Dr Robinson, is that they rely on us, as the reader to improve ourselves and this may not be achievable.
“Of course, ‘self-help’ puts the responsibility back onto us to improve ourselves and this can be quite harmful, particularly to those who might have a mental illness or be vulnerable or feel like they are struggling. Sometimes it can be hard to get out of bed and these books are telling us I need to do a lot of work to be ‘worthy’ or ‘happy’. “
Needless to say, many self-help book readers are just looking for a new perspective to look at things, and this is okay. Reading a book that gives you room to think and introduces you to new solutions is not destructive at all. This means that the person is so sure of themselves that they can “stand their ground” and maintain their values and lifestyle even though some authors completely disagree with it.
The writer Jeroen Kraaijenbrink splits self-help books into three categories: bad effect, placebo effect, and no effect.
Bad effect: “Self-help books give wrong and sometimes harmful advice, they give false hope, they make uncertain people just feel worse about themselves, or they make people refrain from seeking professional support.”
Placebo effect: “If they already work, it is not because of the bits of advice given in the self-help books, but because people pay attention to something that they didn't pay attention to before.”
No effect: “Even though people may find self-help books interesting to read (or just have), they don't work because the advice is just common sense or overly simplistic and people don't do anything with them.”
In short, self-help books should be used as tools to learn more about others and their points of view to become a more thoughtful and empathetic person. Just don’t take everything you read as a rule of law and you’ll be fine!
Bibliography:
Comments