Do you think self-help books are just a trap to readers in trouble?

[Arlindomarco]

Do you think self-help books are just a trap to readers in trouble?

[Boke]

I always preferred biographies , I don't think there is one set "way" to do anything

[Jamie (K)]

I think self-help books really do help people, as long as the advice in them is solid and doesn't make people need more self-help.

Of course, there are some really messed-up people who enjoy the genre so much that they get addicted to the books and constantly obsess over their own "problems". This is a form of narcissism, though.

For normal people, a good self-help book can be beneficial from time to time.

[Openenglish]

I kind of do think most self-help books take advantage of people who are vulnerable because none of us fit into a generic mold. It seems kind of strange to take advice from someone who has never even met us. Also, most of them are about changing your behaviors but I think to really grow and overcome our problems it is just better to see a clinical psychologist who can diagnose us and help us grow.

[Torsten]

Hi Openenglish,

Why do you think you need a clinical psychologist in order to really grow? You grow with every decision you make and with every situation you face. Maybe we should define the term "self-help" book if we want to discuss their value. What often do is find a person I want to emulate and learn from and then I try to some the things that person is doing so I get similar results. That's pretty much what many so called "self-help book" are about, aren't they? And for changing your behavior, I think it's a very good if you can control and adjust your behavior and your habits.
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[Truth Sojourner]

I'm not the biggest fan of self help books but recognize that not all self help books are created equal. A friend recently lent me Soulshaping (Adventures in Self-Creation) by Jeff Brown and was quite impressed by the similarities between the author's and my own journey of self discover and realization. The author is a former lawyer who came to terms with the fact that his life path, while outwardly successful, was based mostly on self-deception and therefore ultimately doomed.
I can't say for sure that all men live lives of quite desperation but have notice that one of the greatest sources of unhappiness is the tendency to deny that inner voice that tell us who we really are and what we really need to be happy and fully realized individuals.
I have also found that books that offer advice and focus on the practical application of proven therapies like cognitive behavioral therapies can be very useful.

[Jamie (K)]

Every once in a while a self-help book will come along that is written by an amateur who doesn't know what he or she is talking about.

Last year a book was popular that said bad things won't happen to you if you're a positive person. It claimed that all bad experiences were the result the person's own negativity. The comedy shows in the US had a lot of fun with this concept. They showed skits where someone playing the author pretended to explain to refugees of the Sudanese genocide or victims of various natural disasters that none of this would have happened to them if they'd had a more positive attitude. It was very funny black humor.