Self-help (noun): ”the activity of you yourself providing what you need to help you solve a problem, end a habit, learn a skill, etc.” (Self-help, 2024).
Self-help (adjective): ”intended to help you solve a problem, end a habit, learn a skill, etc. by yourself” (Self-help, 2024).
Almost every self-help book seems to start with: “This is not just another self-help book’‘. But as one continues reading, it quickly starts to feel like the same old riddle: you need something, and this book, in one way or another, will help you achieve it. By the end, one realizes the answer was not completely out of the blue; deep down, it feels like it had always been there. You experience a motivational or satisfied feeling, or, without subsequent action or expected results, a feeling of self-rejection and increased stress.
Does a self-help book really add value, or is it primarily a form of consumerism — offering hope and reassurance while sustaining an unconscious ego? In other words, is self-help not mostly a way for the author (or promoter) to feel momentarily satisfied, while providing the consumer a temporary fix at best, one that might even further distract from the underlying problem?
Source:
– self-help. (2024). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/self-help