Self-help book

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Self-help books are books written with the stated intention to instruct any readers on a number of personal problems. Self-improvement is a term that is a modernized version of self-help, and bookstores use both terms to classify these types of books in the store. Self-help books often focus on popular psychology, or aspects of the mind and human behavior which believers in self-help feel can be controlled with effort. Self-help books typically advertise themselves as being able to increase self-awareness and performance, including satisfaction with one's life. They often say that they can help you achieve this more quickly than with conventional therapies. There is little scientific evidence of their effectiveness.

Steve Salerno, in his book SHAM, says that self-help books are in fact detrimental, as they offer a short-term boost which quickly leads to greater disappointment. This can lead some believers to be reliable buyers of the latest book to appear with a new advertisement promising success. ^[1]