The Helpfulness of

Self-help Literature

By Kateryna Nevska | Culture | November 8, 2024

Cover Illustration: Lidia (19) PPLE Student, 2024. Kateryna Nevska / The Amsterdammer

In this opinion piece, reporter Kateryna Nevska examines the value and effectiveness of self-help books to evaluate whether they are actually as beneficial as people expect.

You’ve made a New Year’s resolution to finally focus on yourself, and TikTok is fortunately brimming with self-help books promising to change your life for the better. Titles such as ‘How to talk to anyone’ by Leil Lowndres, ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear and ‘Overcoming Anxiety and Depression’ by Bob Phillips now allow you to kill two birds with one stone, healing your inner child while exercising or walking to class. This genre has promptly climbed its way to the top of the bookshelves of self-growth fanatics and those looking to improve their lives. Self-help literature is a subgenre that seeks to solve all of your issues, from mundane everyday tasks to potentially replacing a much-needed therapist.

A lot of these books have been around for quite a while, with one of the most popular releases being Dale Carnegie’s ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People,’ published in 1936. Although self-help books were always popular, the genre has become more wide-read due to Gen Z-ers growing up and striving for personal development and fulfillment. As the genre keeps expanding, a large number of books are being published early without the thorough editing that they require. As I see it, some of them are poorly written and without any particular psychological or scientific data to support their claims. This raises an important question: is self-help literature a reliable resource to solve your problems, and is it actually worth your time? 

Self-help literature generally falls into two main categories: problem-solving strategies and growth-oriented techniques. However, we can’t forget the more detailed subcategories such as how-to books and progression books. On the surface level, problem-solving books tend to focus on offering advice on overcoming specific issues such as anxiety or stress, whereas growth-oriented literature aims to share ‘wisdom’ with the reader. From experience, a lot of these books follow a similar structure and use relaxed, easy-to-follow language, often addressing the reader in a humorous way. Personally, I have delved into the world of both subcategories through ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ by Mark Manson and ‘How to Talk to Anyone’. 

My first impression as I explored the realm of self-growth was that these books were easy to read and follow, being straight to the point and not taking up a lot of time. Throughout each chapter, I found myself immersed in the literature and forgetting that I was even reading a non-fiction book. It felt as if the book was directly speaking to me, breaking the barrier between the reader and the author. Scramble therapy was one of the techniques that I encountered during ‘How to Talk to Anyone’; once a month, you do something new and spontaneous. The book called the shots, and during the two months of such ‘therapy’ I met up with different people, attended museums, and overall put myself out there in a new way. Although I can’t say for certain whether these techniques worked for me or completely removed any feelings of anxiety, the fact that these strategies were included in a book that millions of other people have read gave me reassurance that this would be effective. Some would call it ‘confirmation bias’ but I believe that this is exactly what the book aimed to do; it left me feeling confident and more in tune with myself. 

 

A list of various self-help books, 2024, Kateryna Nevska/The Amsterdammer

Throughout each chapter, I found myself immersed in the literature and forgetting that I was even reading a non-fiction book.

Overall, self-help culture revolves around the myth that such literature is consistently reliable. However, each and every person has their own understanding of how the content helps them specifically. To some people, these techniques will make a huge difference, while for others, they’re just the first step in a long healing process. 

To hear a different perspective, I consulted Lidia Tokarczyk, a 19-year-old first-year PPLE student at the University of Amsterdam. Since psychology is one of the main topics of the PPLE course — the big P in PPLE — I chose to speak to her specifically to find out whether psychology had led her to develop differing thoughts on these books. She states: “It’s such a trend nowadays. I do think self-help books can definitely influence our perception of our abilities and increase confidence through empowering language or even practical advice.” Furthermore, she explains that “a lot of the time, they oversimplify psychological concepts which can only truly be addressed effectively by a psychologist. This then leads to misunderstandings and high expectations.” She added that with high expectations comes disappointment. Although a lot of the books of this genre lack accuracy, setting realistic goals and choosing the right books that combine practical strategies with scientific evidence could lead to an effective improvement in your target areas. This further highlights that the use of these books in combination with traditional therapy could provide additional help, resources, and understanding of your specific situation. 

There are, of course, considerable downsides to this type of literature, such as complicating the issue even more by providing conflicting advice. However, depending on the seriousness of the issue, self-help literature could be seen as a quick fix. Therefore, it is important to consult with a therapist to ensure that the advice is actually worth listening to. 

In the end, I believe that picking up a self-help book will do you more good than harm, as even the smallest bit of positive advice can help transform your life for the better. Nonetheless these books wouldn’t be of help in certain cases such as those involving people suffering from severe mental health disorders. Although the thousands of titles that are available make it seem like anyone can publish a book, whether they have psychological expertise or not, they could still be a starting point for understanding ourselves and the obstacles that we encounter in our everyday lives. If you are in your early stages of adulthood and want to expand your self-perception and grow as a person, starting off with non-fiction literature would only help you in the long run, if you know what kind of advice you need in your life.

Kateryna Nevska is a university student in Amsterdam. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Amsterdammer. 

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