'self-help' Books.., Hindrance or...help? Options

[DaisyChain]

As it seems ever likely that I won't be getting the professional help I need any time soon, I've resorted to buying a self-help book for my PTSD. I've only just flicked through it at the moment, but it gives advice and suggestions along with exercises to help 're-train' my thought processes in regards to the cause of my PTSD.

Has anyone else tried any such book for their particular problem/need? How did you find it? Did it help or hinder?

[Celeste]

Hello DC. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I have a book about overcoming low self esteem, and in all honesty I don't think it did anything for me. I just found it cliched and it made me feel like even more of a failure. But that's just my experience - I know my mum used one a few years ago and it really helped her (can't remember what it was for). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[CJB]

I think you need to find the right book at the right time for you. But also to remember it is unlikely you'll find all the solutions in a single volume.

I've found a number of books covering depression, stress, anxiety, confrontations, difficult people and dealing with change have helped me. I've taken ideas from all of them but have not found any one book that has many let alone all the answers for me.

The books I've found most useful have been recomended to me by friends who have read them themselves and seen things in them that might help me.

[Solari]

As it seems ever likely that I won't be getting the professional help I need any time soon, I've resorted to buying a self-help book for my PTSD. I've only just flicked through it at the moment, but it gives advice and suggestions along with exercises to help 're-train' my thought processes in regards to the cause of my PTSD.

Has anyone else tried any such book for their particular problem/need? How did you find it? Did it help or hinder?

Have PM'd you...

[DaisyChain]

Thanks for your replies, and also many thanks to those who have sent messages. I'll get round to answering them later today. x

[Maizie]

I found books more helpful after I'd had help than before.
With books, on my own, first out, I never quite got it. There's a difference between reading and understanding and putting in to practise that I just didn't get.

Once I'd had CBT and been guided through the whole process, I subsequently found books were more useful - it was helping what I'd previously been taught to click back in to place.

So for me, they worked better as a reminder than as a starting point on their own. I suppose it was the 'finding a way in' that I couldn't manage on my own, but once that was pointed out to me, I now know where to go.

Erm, I don't know if that makes any sense at all. And obviously just my experience (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)