Self-Help Books: Helpful or Not So Much?
Have you recently come across a self-help book with a catchy title that promises to help you achieve the best version of yourself? Or maybe it vows to help you incorporate spirituality into your life, manifest healthy relationships, or achieve any other infinite number of phenomena that will ultimately and undoubtedly push you towards having a fulfilling life?
A self-help book is written with the intention of assisting readers with personal problems and instructing them on ways to improve aspects of their lives. Guides about behaviour and life existed well before the phrase ‘self-help’ came into the picture, but it was not until the mid-twentieth century that the idea of a ‘self-help book’ became culturally and socially prominent. The term itself comes from the book Self-Help written by Samuel Smith in 1859, which addresses the significance of hard work and perseverance in everyday life.
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Soon after that, self-help books rose to popularity because they are written in a way that makes readers feel heard and offers support by addressing the issues that many people encounter. This allows information to easily infiltrate the minds of readers and provide an accessible source of material. Eventually, these books were seen for what they offer: tools for the ordinary, non-professional public to decipher the multifaceted and somewhat inexplicable complexities of the emotional and behavioural lives we experience. These books are highly successful due to three main reasons. Firstly, they are much more affordable when compared to professional psychotherapy or life coaching . Secondly, they are easily attainable. If you walk into any bookstore, you will undoubtedly find a dozen selections. And with online shopping, you don’t even need to leave your bed to order a book from Amazon straight to your front door! Thirdly, self-help books offer something in particular that you cannot get from therapy or professional treatment: privacy. It may be difficult for some to seek help from another individual about personal struggles like relationship or identity issues. This is where self-help books can come in handy; readers can work on improving themselves alone and at their own pace, deciding what advice they want to accept and which they do not. Among many, some common themes in self-help books include personal growth and improvement, relationships, coping, identity, and spirituality.
However, despite the clear advantages of self-help books, critics question their true capability and attempt to determine whether they do, in fact, help readers in the way they claim to. Some researchers suggest that these books only give false hope and could even harm readers. Others believe they can have great positive effects.
The first argument against the effectiveness of self-help books is that they are written in a ‘one size fits all’ mentality. This means the book is written assuming that the entire population is the target audience. Although doing so gives anyone and everyone the chance to read the book without feeling left out, it also means that the advice is not customised for any specific personality, diagnosis, or context. Therefore, the advice of one book can be life-changing for one individual, yet completely useless to another because it is not personalised to meet each person’s needs in their particular life circumstances. Hence, self-help books might seem ineffective.
Another argument is that the effectiveness of self-help books primarily depends on a reader’s interpretation of it. These books are written with the intention of being read by anyone, so an author cannot be too specific and the end result tends to be a book merely offering common-sense advice or overly simplistic and objective information. This is helpful only if the reader is able to take what they read and interpret it positively and in a way that addresses specific scenarios in their life. However, this type of advice tends to be based on folk wisdom and includes statements like ‘time heals all wounds,’ ‘we get what we get,’ or ‘what goes around comes around.’ Though these statements may sound wise and encouraging at first, it is not exactly what a reader seeking real advice wants to hear, possibly leading them to believe they got nothing out of reading the book that is based on such ideologies.
Finally, one other argument is the assumption that the only reason self-help books are helpful is due to a placebo effect. This argument states that these books offer false hope with their elaborate words and advice such that the only reason someone might find themselves improving is because they believe that they are ‘because they read a self-help book,’ and therefore do improve. If this is, in fact, true, then the content of a self-help book would not matter and would not influence the reader’s perception of the book’s value. In reality, the only ‘self-help’ that takes place will be based on the reader’s belief in personal improvement, and not on the actual information that was discussed throughout the book.
On the other hand, there has been some evidence chronicling the successful positive effects of self-help books. In a 2007 study, the social scientist Ad Bergsma evaluated the effectiveness of self-help books and assessed their ability to ‘help.’ He claims that based on research, self-help books primarily aim to enhance personal strength and coping strategies rather than address the psychological symptoms. Based on his own investigation, Bergsma concluded that there are several instances in which a self-help book can be effective.
The first instance is when the book is problem-focused. For example, a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of employing bibliotherapy (using books and literature to support mental health) with depressed patients revealed that the outcomes are very identical to those obtained from group therapy. Other studies have found similar benefits of reading self-help books in treating anxiety and mild alcoholism.
The second instance is when the advice presented is logical and up-to-date. Several self-help books suggest advice that has been circulated repeatedly within pop culture. This information ends up being disproved by empirical research. It is important that the self-help book presents accurate information and improvement techniques otherwise the book essentially becomes fictitious in that whatever it is offering is no longer applicable.
The third is when the book addresses pursuing dreams or ideal versions of phenomena as well as obstacles. As previously mentioned, one of the most attractive traits of self-help books is their accessibility and their hopefulness. However, when the book only talks about the optimistic outcomes without addressing the inevitable obstacles and crossroads along the way, it will obviously not be worthwhile, but disheartening, instead. Of course, any reader would love to believe that the journey to their perfect life or perfect version of themselves comes without any challenges. But the reality is that nothing you ever want is attainable without some effort and dedication, and often a sprinkle of struggle. A self-help book needs to be realistic in that way in order to provide the reader with valuable advice and attainable goals.
Finally, a self-help book cannot be fully effective if the reader is not motivated to achieve whatever the book is teaching. Bergsma states, “Self-help has greatest success with people with high motivation, resourcefulness, and positive attitudes toward self-help treatments.” If a reader is eager to improve their relationships and picks out a self-help book accordingly, they will likely find the advice life-altering and exciting, and they will try to start working on themselves based on the book’s advice. Contrarily, if a reader picks up the same book and has no interest in thinking about their relationships whatsoever, then they will unsurprisingly discover that the book offers unsolicited and somewhat meaningless advice, and they will probably not start improving their relationships.
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After evaluating both sides of the debate, it is clear that while self-help books can be ineffective and grounded on folk wisdom, if the above conditions are met then the self-help book can be helpful. With that said, there are a few things to look out for when choosing a self-help book for yourself:
1. Be specific when choosing a self-help book. Make sure that the book you are picking is written by an expert with a qualified background and that the advice is based on empirical research.
2. Manage your expectations. While the book will most certainly promise you excellent advice, be realistic in your expectations and know that no improvement comes instantaneously nor easily.
3. Read the book thoroughly and with intention. It always comes back to your intent and motivation. If you believe that the advice is something you can build on and implement into your daily life, then you will find that the book helps.
4. Take notes, plan, and put them into action. Passive reading will take you nowhere. Be present and focused while reading and make notes about any advice or information you think can actually help you work on the intended aspect of your life.
5. Finally, be open to suggestions. Accept the information that you read even if it is not something you have particularly thought about in the past, or if it’s not something you agree with. What is the point of reading a self-help book if not to educate yourself on new ways to improve your lifestyle and welcome new ideas and opinions?
Based on the aforementioned common themes of self-help books, here are some book recommendations:
· Personal growth/improvement: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
· Relationships: Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love by Amir Levine and Rachel S.F. Heller
· Identity: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
· Spirituality: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle (my personal favourite).
These books can be purchased on Amazon and Indigo, as well as borrowed from Halifax Public Libraries. It could be smart to browse through Goodreads or the library’s catalogue to read the blurb, reviews, and book ratings before you commit to purchasing a book. This could save you the disappointment of finding out you spent your money on a self-help book that you did not like!
Ultimately, the effectiveness of a self-help book really depends on the reader. Whether a reader ends up with new insight for improving their life or not depends on their personality, life circumstances, and the way they interpret the book itself—which clearly differs from one person to the other. So, if you think that self-help books are not for you, try searching for a few different ones that address diverse themes to see if one stands out to you. It could be that you were not motivated to work on a certain aspect at the time of reading a self-help book which led you to conclude that they are not helpful. Or, it could be the author’s writing style or advice altogether. Nevertheless, you may be surprised to discover the beneficial outcome of finding that one self-help book that changes your life.