Self-Help That Works summary

For better or worse, new parents are most familiar with the child-rearing techniques they picked up from their own parents. But even if they’ve got a solid set of fundamental skills, many parents still worry about things like reaching specific developmental milestones, how best to respond to crying, and what disciplinary methods are most effective. In other words, most parents have a lot of pressing questions – and there are volumes upon volumes of self-help books aimed at providing answers. So which ones do clinicians recommend the most?

For infant development and parenting, there are several highly-rated books. Among the strongest recommendations are two books by the authors Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi E. Murkoff, and Sandee E. Hathaway, entitled What to Expect the First Year, and its follow-up, What to Expect: The Toddler Years.

A century ago, the average life expectancy of a human male was less than 45 years. Thankfully, a lot has changed since then. Nowadays, people aged 65 and older make up around 13 percent of the population, this being an unprecedented statistic in human history.

Our attitudes toward aging have been changing too. The prevailing mindset used to be that our final years should be a passive experience. But now that we know that the most active older adults are also the happiest and healthiest, attitudes have changed significantly. Given these new changes, it’s no surprise then that there’s a wealth of self-help resources out there for both older adults as well as their relatives and caregivers.

What is anxiety? For different people, it elicits various unpleasant feelings, for there’s a range of anxiety disorders that can elicit feelings of apprehension, motor tensions such as jumpiness or trembling, or hyperactivity such as dizziness and a racing heart.

The spectrum of anxiety disorders includes panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as generalized anxiety disorder. There’s a lot of controversy around anxiety disorders, including how to best treat them. But many of the surveyed mental health professionals did come to a general consensus on some of the best self-help resources available regarding anxiety disorders.

Among US adolescents, suicide is the third leading cause of death. And it’s tenth among the nation’s general population. It’s safe to say, right now, millions of people are considering thoughts of ending their own lives.

What those statistics don’t reveal is that every suicide can adversely impact a large number of friends and family. For these people, feelings of guilt and grief may never fully go away.

Clinically speaking, addiction is when someone continues with a behavior or the use of a substance despite negative consequences. Addicted people generally become mentally caught up in their behavior while their tolerance of its negative consequences increases. The sad result? The behavior continuously escalating in order for the individual to experience the same result.

Addictions include, but are not limited to, gambling, sex, pornography, as well as drugs and alcohol. These days, there’s also an increasing amount of attention devoted to cyber addictions. More controversial is the issue of codependency, which was originally a term used to describe people who were married to alcoholics but has since grown to include many other circumstances. Even though it’s become increasingly difficult to pin down an exact definition of codependency, there’s a wide array of resources aimed at both addicts and those in relationships with addicts.

Like other issues, including addiction and death, many of us can be uncomfortable talking about sex. As a result of our lack of communication, as well as media stereotypes of unrealistic sexual exploits, we have plenty of unresolved questions and worries around sex. This is why the sexuality category of self-help resources is well supplied with materials.

There are recommendations for books that are specifically for men, women, and those in relationships. The most strongly recommended for women is Becoming Orgasmic: A Sexual Growth Program For Women, by Julia Heiman, a book that offers a range of exercises designed to encourage women to explore and understand their sexual feelings and reach a place of increased sexual fulfillment.

Today’s marriages have very little in common with marriages 50 years ago. Back then, it was expected that a couple would have kids and the wife would stay home while the husband worked. And very few couples went to a therapist to sort out their problems. Luckily, all of those things have now changed.

While a large number of marriages in the US end in divorce – around 40 percent of first marriages and 50 percent after that – many people still seek to heal and improve their relationships through self-help resources. So let’s look at what the experts recommend.

There’s no denying that life can be stressful, so let’s look at some resources for managing that stress, and also find out what the experts recommend on the subject of happiness.

It’s not hard to find evidence of America’s stress problem. Some of the biggest-selling pharmaceutical drugs are Xanax, Ativan, and Klonopin – all of which are anti-anxiety drugs. But recent research suggests that there isn’t a single effective remedy for managing stress. Instead, a multi-faceted approach is likely the best way to go. One that involves a combination of relaxation techniques, anger management, mindfulness, regular exercise, vacationing more often, and opening up to close friends.