5 Essential Self-help Books
Perhaps at some difficult time in your life you have felt the need to understand what was happening to you or you have simply wanted to find solutions to your problems. And for that, you thought about turning to self-help books. The truth is that there are a large number of these paper and ink drugs.
Some self-help books talk about love, sadness, how to overcome obstacles that prevent you from reaching your goal, or anxiety. There are themes for all tastes, as well as authors. There are even books to learn to be better parents.
Given all this offer, it is difficult to decide on one in particular, they all seem the same but at the same time different. The important thing is not to select the one that with many pages is empty of content, but the one that is capable of inspiring and awakening the desire to get going and act.
Why are self-help books successful?
According to the psychologist Susana Moraga “the success of self-help books lies in their wide availability to all audiences.” In addition, he affirms that the reasons for their rise are their affordable prices, the ease of finding them in public libraries and digital platforms, the language they use and above all, that they are well regarded, taking into account that one of their advantages is that with them The art of word of mouth almost always works.
Likewise, the psychologist points out that “the cliché or shame has been overcome, not necessarily whoever reads a self-help book has a mental disorder. ” People are increasingly aware of how important our mental health is.
5 self-help books
Here are 5 self-help books that I have in my library. This does not mean that they are essential. Surely there are better ones when you read this article, as new books do not stop going on sale. However, I can assure you that they are written with scientific rigor and are easily understood by most people.
Feeling Good: A New Depression Therapy , David D. Burns
This book is focused, as the title says, on overcoming low mood. Now, to avoid that the title generates confusion in the reader, it is necessary to clarify that “low mood” is not synonymous with depression. Thus, Burns clearly explains to us how we can improve our mood and avoid falling into a depressive disorder.
This book could be a complementary material to psychological therapy to remember aspects that are treated in it. It will serve both patients and experienced psychologists.
If life gives us lemons, let’s make lemonade, Ernesto López Méndez and Miguel Costa
The authors of this book were my teachers in the master of psychology. They are lovely people and have a great deal of experience in the field of psychology. Maybe that’s why I liked this book so much.
In a clear, simple and didactic way, the book takes us into the depths of the experience of stress to learn how and why it can affect us so much and even damage our health. Although it is true that it does not focus only on stress, since it contains practical guides to face fear, anxiety, anguish and obsessions.
Ernesto López Méndez and Miguel Costa offer us resources to organize time and thus be able to face threats and hostilities. They also refer to different strategies to respond to that feeling of anguish that makes us say “I’m short of breath”, such as the deep breathing technique.
Your wrong zones , Wayne Dyer
What to say about this book! It is a classic of self-help. I first read it 15 years ago and it’s great to keep permanently on your nightstand. This way, you can turn to him whenever you feel bad. I call it “the SOS book.”
Your wrong zones is a book that we usually recommend many psychologists. In it, the most determining principles for our psychological health are mentioned. Wayner Dyer describes the most important aspects to be independent, happy and emotionally healthy, using simple and easy to understand language. Each chapter is written as if it were a psychotherapy session.
Emotional Self-Control Techniques, Martha Davis, Matthew McKay, and Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman
In this eminently practical book, various and effective resources for coping with stress and controlling emotions are explained . It is a compendium of techniques in which each of them is explained in each chapter.
You can learn to be happy, Alexandra Dieguez González and Carmen Serrat-Valera
In this book, the psychologist Carmen Serrat-Valera and the journalist Alexa Diéguez teach how to explore personal resources, manage emotions, develop different types of talents and take care of oneself to achieve fulfillment. It is an enriching work, written with a close and practical style, which helps us understand how we work.
It also teaches us to identify and overcome the obstacles that prevent us from fulfilling ourselves and to follow the right paths to build the life we want step by step. For this, numerous exercises of proven effectiveness are explained, as well as stories, metaphors, scientific investigations and reflections.
I hope that, like me, you enjoy reading, if not all, some of these self-help manuals. Even so, it is good to remember that they are not intended to replace the help of a professional, they are simply one more resource to help us continue to grow.
