Beware of Self-Help Books!

In times of difficulty, people may turn to self-help books, in the hope of getting good counsel on how to improve their situation. And these tracts may contain advice on the use of positive self-statements, such as “I’m a lovable person” or “I will succeed”, as mantras to improve self-esteem.

The journal Psychological Science contains a report of studies that suggest such statements can be ineffective, or even harmful. Canadian researchers asked participants with low and high self-esteem to repeat the self-help phrase “I am a lovable person”. The scientists then measured the participants’ mood and their feelings about themselves. Those with low self-esteem felt worse after repeating the mantra than another low self-esteem group who didn’t repeat the phrase. On the other hand, those with high initial self-esteem felt better after repeating the mantra – but only slightly.

In the second study, participants were asked to list negative and positive self-thoughts. Paradoxically, participants with low self-esteem had improved mood when they were able to list negative thoughts in this way, tan when they were asked to focus only on positive thoughts. The researchers concluded that “repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people [i.e. those with high self-esteem] but backfire for the very people who need them the most”.

I suggest you save your money and eschew self-help books (unless you really don’t need them).