Books on anxiety are proliferating, which is not surprising if we take into account that it is one of the most common psychological disorders. It is estimated that around 5% of the world’s population suffers from a generalized anxiety disorder that requires specialized help.
Furthermore, the path to treat anxiety is not easy and is often full of potholes and setbacks that make people lose confidence or want to opt for simpler and quicker solutions. In this scenario, books on anxiety often represent a hope.
Are self-help books on anxiety useful?
Bookshelves are lined with books on anxiety, many of which promise to help people get rid of their problem once and for all. However, it should be noted that anxiety does not disappear by reading a book.
Does this mean that these books are completely useless?
No.
There are many different self-help books on anxiety, some of which are more helpful than others. For example, there is no doubt that a book written by a psychologist who has vast experience in treating anxiety will probably be very helpful because it condenses all of his knowledge about this disorder.
However, self-help is a genre that is easily prostituted, so it is relatively easy to find books on anxiety written by people who are not experts in the subject. These works can not only be ineffective but can even have an iatrogenic effect and cause emotional damage.
Therefore, the first step when buying a book on anxiety is to get to know the author and make sure that he or she is a professional who has a good command of the subject.
The second step is to clarify your expectations because there are different types of self-help books on the market about anxiety. There are some that go into great depth about the causes and symptoms of the disorder but put very little emphasis on techniques. In this case, the book will be useful to you in understanding what is happening to you but it will probably not be very valuable in combating anxiety.
However, there are also books that focus more on techniques, which are much more practical in nature. This is not a guarantee of success, but with these works you will certainly have a better chance of learning to manage anxiety.
Therefore, before purchasing a book, take a few minutes to read the table of contents.
A matter of personal commitment
There are books that can change our lives, or at least our view of the world or of ourselves. For this to happen, two factors must come together: on the one hand, the book must be well structured and convey an important message, and on the other hand, we must be very receptive.
In a nutshell, a self-help book is like a movie. For a movie to awaken our emotions and make us reflect, it must not only be well made, but it must resonate with our situation, we must identify with it and, above all, we must be receptive to the message it is trying to convey. For this reason, a film that may be enlightening for some may be completely inconsequential for others. In fact, the same film, seen at different stages of our life, often has a different impact because the meaning we attribute to it is not the same.
What does all this mean?
It is not enough for a book on anxiety to provide understandable information and practical techniques; the person must commit to change. The best self-help book in the world, endorsed by hundreds of professionals, can be completely useless if the person is not willing to change and take control of his or her life.
A book is always a world of possibilities, each person can interpret it differently and, without having a therapist at your side, there is a risk of taking the wrong path or becoming demotivated halfway through.
In which cases are books on anxiety recommended?
Good self-help books on anxiety are always recommended, even those that focus only on the causes and symptoms, because they provide information about the problem we have and help us understand ourselves better. On the other hand, books that focus on techniques are also useful because they give us practical tools to keep specific symptoms under control.
However, many of these books do not represent a definitive solution, they are simply a tool for reflection that will help you identify your problems and give you the push you need. If you are experiencing the first symptoms of anxiety, a book with practical techniques will probably be of great help, but if you have been suffering from anxiety for years, it is difficult to overcome the problem with the help of a book alone, in these cases the guidance of a psychologist is essential.
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