Self Help books - The Easy Way to Stop Smoking

A recent study reported by the British Psychological Society shows that in some cases, Self-Help books provide no help. Specifically, the study is looking into cognitive self help methods for sufferers of depression. But, it’s an interesting general idea.

Personally, I feel that Self-Help books can provide a useful tool, and for some people, an inspiration to really change in a positive way. However, reading about positive change is not the same as actually changing.

Therapists understand the problems that can be created by ‘intellectualising’ – the emotion-less thinking and rethinking about an event, action or anticipation can be a reason for never allowing change. While we are thinking about acting, we are not acting.

How many of us have read self help books, skipped over the exercises, thought quickly about some of the useful concepts and then ignored them. There is the problem – its no good just reading about what to do, we have to actually do it.

Therapy gives the client the real-life interaction with another individual who can identify intellectualising or other blocks to progress, point them out and help the client to overcome them.

I think that self-help books definitely do have a place for some, and I often recommend books to clients who might be interested in using them alongside the therapy sessions. Perhaps you might be interested in some of them too.

The first book I will mention in these posts is a real classic. It is not so much a self-help book as a book that uses the power of suggestion. Written in such a way as to gently persuade the reader to achieve what they wanted to achieve – the book is Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking.

Anyone considering stopping smoking could do much worse than spend the few pounds that this best selling paperback will set them back. Now an international bestseller, the book claims that reading it will allow you to be a happy non-smoker for the rest of your life. That may not be true for everyone perhaps, but I have met many people who have stopped smoking very easily after reading the book, so I strongly recommend it.

Lorna Cordwell 18 February 2010

Sources:

Carr, Allen “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking” (2009) Penguin Books

Haeffel (2010) “When self-help is no help. Traditional cognitive skills training does not prevent depressive symptoms in people who ruminate”