Can Self Help Help?

Judging by the fact that Waterstone’s told me they have so few computer books  because Self Help sells better,it made me think.With Self Help the implication is that some knowledge we lack can be imparted to us and that we can use it to cure our anxiety attacks etc,

On the other hand, no serious reading person who lives in the era since Freud made his “discoveries” can be totally ignorant of the fact that Freud believed we may only know  a small amount about ourselves either because we repress or deny or because our minds can only be conscious of a few things… and must forget a lot to cope.. or for much deeper reasons as in traumatic events,war,etc
I think self help can have some effect as in learning to relax the muscles all over the body; as in learning it’s ok to have bad feelings ; that bad feelings will not harm us and will dissipate after a while… but if we want to know more about ourselves others may see in us emotions,dispositions,deeds we are unaware of.As I wrote recently,if we are brave we can discuss our problem with a friend.. see how they view it.
I feel if somebody has no friends they are going to find life very hard.I found last week a few familiar voices on the phone helped me to get through the recent  hard days…Though some folk are more introverted than others… and we need peace and quiet…
If it’s true our neuroses have hidden causes then self help might not work.Judging by the numerous books it seems perhaps it doesn’t!If it does,why so many more books every month
I like these books

Intimacy and Solitude by Stephanie Dowrick.[ and her later writings]
Any book that teaches simple relaxation.
How to meditate by Lawrence Leshan.
Phantasy in every day life by Julia Segal.

I do not like books which use positive affirmations, positive thinking,dwelling in cloud cuckoo land,raising your self esteem, religious tracts disguised as help,and especially books promising that you only have to pray and you will get all your desires fulfilled; after all Jesus prayed before being crucified… prayer may be a very good thing but people must find their own way into it.. and the consequences may be different from when a child asks for a certain toy for Christmas.We are not children and if God is there it’s not to make me rich or give you sexual magnetism and confidence and  make you boss of Google.

And cerebral people like myself need reminding that knowing something is not enough.. we must experience  our emotions around the issues like we do in grieving a loss