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Self-Help
Though the term self-help can refer to any case whereby an individual
or a group betters themselves economically, intellectually or emotionally,
the connotations of the phrase have come to apply particularly to psychological
or psychotherapeutic nostrums, often purveyed through the popular genre
of the "self-help" book. Sometimes writers refer to a "self-help
movement", though exactly what this is taken to be is not clear.
Self-help marketplace, and criticisms
Group and corporate aid for the "seeker" has also moved into
the "self-help" marketplace, with LGATs and therapy systems
ready with more or less pre-packaged solutions to instruct folk seeking
their own individual betterment.
Compare
1.Landmark Education
2.Scientology
3.Silva Method
Though remaining popular, self-help books and programs have been criticized
as offering "easy answers" to difficult personal problems. According
to this view, the reader or participant receives the equivalent of a placebo
while the writer and publisher collect the profits. The book God is My
Broker asserts, "The only way to get rich from a self-help book is
to write one."
History
The first "self-help" book was - indeed - titled "Self-Help".
It was written by Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) and was published in 1859.
Its opening sentence is: "Heaven helps those who help themselves",
which is often quoted but rarely referenced. The author was of a progressive
political bent.
Other examples since are
In 1950, L. Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental
Health.Despite a lot of controversy, over the years Dianetics has been
adopted by many as a workable self-help book, with more than 21 million
copies sold over the years.
In 1967, Thomas Anthony Harris published I'm OK, You're OK, which is
also seen as one of the most successful selling self-help books, with
over 15 million copies sold to date.
Other definitions
In law and the anthropology of law, self-help refers to legal remedies
that can be initiated by the aggrieved person alone without filing a lawsuit
or obtaining an order from a judge. The creditor who sends out a "repo
man" to repossess a vehicle driven by a defaulting debtor is using
a self-help remedy in enforcing his lien.
While some measure of self-help is inevitable and necessary, by definition
self-help remedies are available without a great deal of due process,
and the current tendency of the law is to discourage their use. The problem
with self-help is that it can easily escalate into violence, an inherently
inefficient form of dispute resolution.
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