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Topics in the self-help literature and their relevance for happiness

Topics in the self-help literature and their relevance for happiness

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Advice for a happier life is found in so-called ‘self-help books’, which are widely sold in modern countries these days. These books popularize insights from psychological science and draw in particular on the newly developing ‘positive psychology’. An analysis of 57 best-selling psychology books in the Netherlands makes clear that the primary aim...

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... is a large database were most correlational findings about happiness are gathered. Table 5 summarizes the topic choices in the self-help literature and makes a comparison with the correlational data in the database. Table 5 confirms the impression that self-help books recommend for things that are related to happiness. ...
Context 2
... 5 summarizes the topic choices in the self-help literature and makes a comparison with the correlational data in the database. Table 5 confirms the impression that self-help books recommend for things that are related to happiness. The differences between the recommendations in self-help- books and the observed correlates of happiness do not seem to be random. ...

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... Both levels and changes in personality traits are related to important life outcomes in many life domains such as occupation, relationships, and health (Allemand et al., 2019;Beck & Jackson, 2022;Ozer & Benet-Martínez, 2006;Roberts et al., 2007;Soto, 2019Soto, , 2021Wright & Jackson, 2023). Therefore, the prospect of changing one's personality intentionally is highly attractive for individuals, as also evidenced by the popularity of commercial selfhelp products and services (Bergsma, 2008). In fact, most people wish to change aspects of their personality (Hudson & Fraley, 2016b;Miller et al., 2019), and this finding is consistent across demographic or regional characteristics (Baranski et al., 2021;Thielmann & de Vries, 2021). ...
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Volitional personality change interventions have been shown to help people change their current personality towards their ideal personality. Here, we address three limitations of this literature. First, we contrast the dominant theoretical perspective of self-improvement with self-acceptance as pathways to reduce the discrepancy between current and ideal personality. Second, we test how well-being aspects change as a by-product of targeting personality. Third, we use a waitlist control group to account for expectancy and demand effects. Across three studies (combined N = 2,094; 1,044 women, 1,050 men; M_age = 30.78, SD_age = 9.70, range_age = 18-105), we implemented randomized online interventions of self-improvement or self-acceptance over a 3-month period, with another follow-up 6 months after baseline and a waitlist control group added in Study 2. Across Studies 1 and 2, participants in both intervention groups reduced discrepancies between current and ideal personality and increased in well-being. In both intervention groups, current personality ratings increased, whereas ideal personality remained stable. Critically, however, control group participants changed in the same fashion, with similar or only slightly smaller effect sizes than participants who received an intervention. Study 3 compared different control group specifications and demonstrated that demand effects elicited by the framing as an intervention explained positive changes in neuroticism, conscientiousness, and extraversion as well as life satisfaction and self-esteem. Thus, the current studies highlight both shortcomings of previous intervention designs and imprecisions in theoretical frameworks of personality change mechanisms. We discuss future directions including multi-method studies, measurement advances, and micro-randomization of intervention components.
... Alongside cancer-related genres like teen 'sick-lit' and autopathography, there are other aspects of cancer discourse that appear to have therapeutic potential, and a number of studies have identified such potential in self-help stories (Greenberg 1994;Bergsma 2008;Philip 2009;Gwynne 2024). It is not only the content of the stories, which often provide inspirational examples of cancer survivorship and give valuable practical tips, but the language in which they are written that has a positive impact on the readers. ...
... Numerous studies have been conducted about the self-help genre (Greenberg 1994;Bergsma 2008;Philip 2009;Riley et al. 2019;Gwynne 2024). The ideas presented in self-help books, some of which are also popularised more broadly in the mass media (Bergsma 2008), may derive from the personal experience of the writer or creator, or else be based on observations of real-life situations. ...
... Numerous studies have been conducted about the self-help genre (Greenberg 1994;Bergsma 2008;Philip 2009;Riley et al. 2019;Gwynne 2024). The ideas presented in self-help books, some of which are also popularised more broadly in the mass media (Bergsma 2008), may derive from the personal experience of the writer or creator, or else be based on observations of real-life situations. The self-help book genre aims to motivate, teach and inspire changes in the lives of its readers, who Metaphor and therapeutic potential in cancer discourse 3 might be experiencing situations similar to that of a self-help author. ...
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Sickness does not involve just the human body but also has a psychological dimension, and a number of studies have identified the positive psychological potential of self-help books in relation to illness. This paper examines metaphorical mappings employed in describing cancer patients in self-help books, undertaking a comparison of an American and a Nigerian work and identifying new categorisations and highlighting their therapeutic potential. It seeks to answer the following questions: what new metaphorical categories can be identified in Nigerian and American self-help books?; what therapeutic potential do they have?; and what similarities/differences can be identified in these self-help books? The sample size is 102 self-help stories, of which 24 instances were considered relevant for close analysis. This study adopts the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) approach and employs the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) and methodologies concerned with the comparison and categorisation of metaphoric membership. The findings focus on four metaphorical categories: military, journey, personification and sports. The difference between the Nigerian and American self-help books lies in the contextualised manner of metaphorical presentation. In particular, the findings highlight sports metaphors in the American books as possessing more therapeutic tendencies due to the presence of humour, trivialisation, self-deprecation and satire. This category reflects that humour can ease stress and anxiety/panic and aid relaxation. Keywords: cancer discourse; cancer patients; categorisation; comparison; conceptual metaphor theory therapy; self-help books
... Sridhar & Vaughn (2000) menyatakan bahwa seseorang akan lebih terbuka perasaan dan pemikirannya terhadap suatu pengalaman pribadi yang dimilikinya setelah membaca sebuah teks yang selaras dengan pengalaman pribadi yang dimilikinya, seperti yang banyak tertuang dalam bukuselfhelp. Lebih lanjut, Bergsma (2008) mengutarakan bahwa buku self-help berasal dari kata self-help yang berarti bantuan diri berupa tindakan membantu atau memperbaiki diri sendiri tanpa bantuan dari orang lain. Bergsma (2008) juga menjelaskan bahwa bukuself-help memiliki kelebihan di antaranya: ...
... Lebih lanjut, Bergsma (2008) mengutarakan bahwa buku self-help berasal dari kata self-help yang berarti bantuan diri berupa tindakan membantu atau memperbaiki diri sendiri tanpa bantuan dari orang lain. Bergsma (2008) juga menjelaskan bahwa bukuself-help memiliki kelebihan di antaranya: ...
... Buku self-help dengan keunggulankeunggulan di atas dapat memberikan kemudahan bagi pembacanya terutama mereka yang sedang Copyright ©2023, ISSN: 2598-3040 online 422 membutuhkan terapi penyembuhan mental. Penggunaan bukuself-help tergantung pada pembacanya yang memiliki kondisi mental yang berbeda-beda, buku self-help dapat digunakan secara mandiri jika kondisi psikis pembaca masih pada tahap ringan, tetapi jika kondisi mental pembaca dari buku selfhelp sudah pada tahap yang berat, maka disarankan adanya pembimbing saat proses membaca (Bergsma, 2008). ...
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... But, the absence or inadequacies of studies around self-help books was highlighted by several researchers (Brookfield, 1984;Whelan 2005;Bergsma, 2008, Effing, 2009Mahanta, 2010;Venugopal, 2011;Mahalingam, 2012;McLean, 2013McLean, , 2014Kapell & McLean, 2014;Pettersson, 2018;Khandelwal, 2018b;) who observed how scholars have neglected the adult learning from self-help books despite its popular use. Kapell & McLean (2014, pp. ...
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... Some researchers argue that societal emphasis on self-management (rather than treatment by a mental health professional or support from one's community) is influenced by a neoliberal agenda which prioritizes individualism over social support in addressing mental health problems [26]. It is important also to note that the self-help industry is extremely profitable, which may bias some of the evaluations of the efficacy of selfhelp interventions, as well as hinder the investigation of potential negative effects of self-help to maximize financial gains [27,28]. ...
... Self-care Diet (e.g., eating a healthy diet) [1] Exercise [1] Learn to talk back to the amygdala [2] Meditation procedures [2] Mindfulness [2] Rest [1] Seek help when needed [2] Seek opportunities to experience positive emotions of empathy, compassion, forgiveness, joy, and gratitude [2] Use relaxation [2] Specific digital interventions: Rainbow SPARX (game-based CBT) [3] Self-help Ask a trusted friend or relative to help you get out and about or do activities [4] Be with friends [5] Bibliotherapy or books [6][7][8] Computerized CBT [9] Do something you enjoy [4] Eat a healthy, balanced diet [4] Engage in an activity that gives a feeling of achievement [4] Exercising [10] Facebook support groups [11] Go swimming [5] Journaling [10] Let family and friends know how you are feeling so that they are aware of what you are going through [4] Low mood self-help websites [12] Make a list of strategies that have worked in the past for your mental health problem and used them [4] Make sure you got out of the house for at least a short time each day [4] Reward yourself for reaching a small goal [4] See a different perspective [5] Self-directed prevention workbooks [13] Self-help apps or websites [6,14] Sleep [4,5] Spending time with friends and family [10] Take drugs (i.e., risky activities or behaviors) [5] Talk problems or feelings over with someone who is supportive and caring [4] Talk to a counsellor [5] Try to remain involved in purposeful activities for at least a small part of every day [4] Work through on one's own [5] Write out feelings [5] Specific digital interventions: Blues Blaster website (CBT) [15] Bounce Back Now (behavioral activation) [16] BRAVE (CBT) [17] Coping With Depression for adolescents (CWD-ACBT) [15] Eco-WeB PREVENT and PROMOTE (CBT) [18] Feeling Better (CBT) [19] Mayo Clinic Anxiety Coach (exposure-based CBT) [20] The Journey (CBT) [21] MEMO (CBT)| [22] MoodHwb (psychoeducation) [23] myCompass (CBT) [24] OCD? Not Me! (CBT) [25] Rainbow SPARX (game-based CBT) [26] SPARX (game-based CBT) [27][28][29][30] The Breathe Program (CBT) [31] The Cool Teens CD-ROM (CBT) [32] diverged from the other concepts in the included text excerpts for this review. For example, "Looking after yourself" may not be unique to the concept of "self-care" in general, but it was unique to self-care in the analysis performed for the purposes of this review. ...
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This study aimed to review the existing published and grey literature describing the concepts of self-management, self-care, and self-help, and to capture strategies or techniques related to these concepts, for adolescents with emotional problems. Emotional problems are rising amongst adolescents, yet timely access to specialist mental health treatment is limited to those with greater severity of mental health difficulties. Self-management, self-care, and self-help strategies may be used by adolescents with emotional problems both in terms of those waiting for treatment and to prevent relapse. Given the overlap in existing definitions and the lack of clarity around these concepts in an adolescent mental health context, a scoping review of the literature is warranted to provide clarity. Eligible studies were those involving adolescents aged 10 to 19 years with symptoms of emotional problems. Studies referenced self-management, self-care, or self-help, not involving a professional, in this population. Quantitative, qualitative, economic, and mixed methods studies, as well as systematic, scoping, and literature reviews, from 2000 onwards and in the English language, were eligible for inclusion. A systematic search was conducted of both published and grey literature. Databases searched included PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL Plus. Mednar was also searched for unpublished studies and grey literature. Tables of themes, terms, and associated strategies are presented alongside a thematic analysis of the results. 62 articles were included. These were 20 quantitative studies, 14 systematic reviews, 10 qualitative studies, five review papers, four book chapters, four mixed methods studies, two dissertations, two meta-analyses and one scoping review and systematic review. Most of the included articles referenced self-help (n = 51), followed by self-management (n = 17) and self-care (n = 6). A total of 12 themes were identified from a reflexive thematic analysis of descriptions (and associated strategies) of self-management, self-help, or self-care in included texts. This scoping review provides clarity on the similarities and differences between how these concepts are discussed, and the strategies which are associated with each of these concepts in the relevant literature. Implications for policy and intervention development for adolescents’ self-management, self-help, and self-care of their mental health are discussed. There is considerable overlap in both the ways in which these concepts are described, and the strategies or approaches proposed in relation to them, supporting previous research suggesting these strategies should be grouped under a single term, such as “self or community approaches.” More research is needed for self-management, self-help, and self-care amongst marginalized groups as these adolescents may have the highest unmet need for mental health support.
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... The benefit of self-help books can oftentimes be enduring value given that human endeavour for personal growth and self-empowerment has constantly sought insights into invariable life principles (Bergsma, 2008) as illustrated by the Bible being the oldest and best-selling self-help text (Rosen et al., 2003). Hence, it is less likely to be the case that a brandnew self-help book offers qualitatively differentiated and superior content compared with an ancient self-help book. ...
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This research identifies recency heuristic utilized by consumers with limited prior knowledge for product innovativeness evaluation. Consumers with limited prior knowledge of a product category perceived a new product as more innovative when its release date was more recent, while consumers with prior knowledge remained uninfluenced by recency information (Study 1). The effect was replicated at the product level (Study 2). It further demonstrates two critical boundary conditions—when recency was either irrelevant information or a rationally legitimate evaluative tool, recency heuristic was inapplicable (Study 3). The present research draws attention to the role of recency in conceptualizing product innovativeness and further elaborates the understanding of how the construct of innovativeness is represented in consumers’ minds by focusing on the conceptual relationship of novelty and recency. It also contributes to the heuristic literature by proposing recency as an evaluative heuristic tool for innovativeness assessment. Results provide managers with practical insight into whether to highlight or downplay product release date information depending on their target audience and the level of product innovativeness. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... The primary reason so many of these self-help books fail to meet the American Psychological Association's (APA) guidelines around using the best available research, client preferences, and clinical expertise ( Norcross, 2000 ), and why they are often poorly rated by psychologists, is because they are unguided ( Richardson et al., 2008 ). Without guidance from a therapist, or what's called guided self-help, self-administered (or unguided) self-help books ( Bergsma, 2008 ) implicitly suggest that reading is sufficient to actualize solutions (or treatment) without follow-through in changing behaviours, cognitions, or accessing ongoing support ( Cherry, 2008 ). ...
Article
A psychedelic industrial complex is emerging as new research on these substances and their effects is being approved. These substances show promise, but much remains unknown about their potential for both benefit and harm. Despite the paucity of reliable mechanistic evidence, some entrepreneurs have already begun to market psychedelic advice. We draw on some critiques of the self-help industry to propose potential parallels in the psychedelic industry. Overstated claims, cultural lore, for-profit organizations, and spiritual gurus come with the territory of both industries aimed at selling solutions for mental health disorders. We offer some guidelines for responsible research, therapy, and policy to temper these concerns, focusing on evidence-based practices, decriminalization, and rigorous therapist training.