{"id":11730,"date":"2024-02-15T18:22:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T18:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/?p=11730"},"modified":"2024-02-20T18:21:16","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T18:21:16","slug":"reading-between-the-self-help-book-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/2024\/02\/15\/reading-between-the-self-help-book-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading Between the Self-Help-Book Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n Amber E Gwynne, <\/span>“\u2018Up to you\u2019: Self-help books, depression and the reconstruction of reading,” Media, Culture & Society<\/em>,<\/a><\/span> 2023<\/span><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A dark silhouette of a man reading a book in a library. <\/em>Image from Pixabay<\/a> under Pexels license<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-help books have continued to gain popularity in recent decades, but there is mixed evidence of how these books are helpful for people, especially for those experiencing mental health challenges. To gain a better understanding of how individuals use these books, A.E. Gwynne did intensive interviews with people experiencing depression who regularly read such literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked why they turned to self-help books in the first place, interviewees typically described wanting a \u201cquick fix\u201d or \u201csilver bullet”. Sarah is an example. She believed reading a self-help book on mental health would, \u201cbe like going to one of those churches where they put their hands on your head, and all of a sudden\u2026a miracle!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>Many interviewees described changing their expectations of these books as they read more. In particular, they described the quest for books that could teach them only one thing that could potentially aid them in their lives. They also realized that the books were only an aid and they needed to do the work of helping themselves.They also realized that the books were only an aid and they needed to do the work of helping themselves.<\/span> Aaron explained, \u201cThat\u2019s what self-help means. It means help yourself<\/em>. The book\u2019s helping you, but you\u2019re still doing the lifting.\u201d Beyond personal improvement, respondents also valued how self-help books allowed them to understand that others are experiencing the same struggles as they were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While readers were generally enthusiastic about self-help books, some admitted that reading them sometimes caused them to experience shame, disappointment, fear, confusion, and anger. This less-than-positive effect was generally attributed to the fact that reading was sometimes hindered by the very symptoms they were experiencing. Monique explained, \u201cWhen you\u2019re depressed you don\u2019t really feel like reading. I think coming out of it, that\u2019s when you read.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While self-help books can be helpful for some, this research highlights how reading them is often a mixed bag and rarely an instant fix. People seeking help strictly from self-help books may isolate themselves and prevent them from connecting with organizations, programs, and professionals with expertise in dealing with addressing the root issues of mental health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amber E Gwynne, “\u2018Up to you\u2019: Self-help books, depression and the reconstruction of reading,” Media, Culture & Society, 2023 A dark silhouette of a man reading a book in a library. Image from Pixabay under Pexels license. Self-help books have continued to gain popularity in recent decades, but there is mixed evidence of how these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2217,"featured_media":11732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,33],"tags":[138584,138583,138565,138575,564,34,138582,138571,138577,565,138585,138579,138572,138573,138564,138587,138576,138578,138567,138586,138568,138570,138569,138562,138581,138574,138563,1969,138580,138566],"class_list":["post-11730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-health","tag-book-recommendations","tag-book-therapy","tag-coping-strategies","tag-coping-with-mental-illness","tag-depression","tag-education","tag-emotional-support","tag-holistic-healing","tag-managing-expectations","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-health-journeys","tag-mental-health-resources","tag-mental-wellness","tag-overcoming-challenges","tag-personal-improvement","tag-professional-help","tag-reader-expectations","tag-seeking-help","tag-self-awareness","tag-self-care-practices","tag-self-discovery","tag-self-empowerment","tag-self-guided-healing","tag-self-help-books","tag-self-help-culture","tag-self-help-literature","tag-self-improvement","tag-stigma","tag-therapeutic-reading","tag-therapy-alternatives"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/files\/2024\/02\/pexels-pixabay-247899-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11730"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11747,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11730\/revisions\/11747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}