January 5, 2004 Happy New Year. Self help books have been big sellers for years. Now it seems that more and more are being marketed to teens. Dr. Phil wrote a book, and his son wrote a similar one for teens. Another son wrote: "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens", based on his father's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", but that is only the beginning... Search for "self help" books at amazon.com, and you will get 49,433 results. Search for "'self help' and teen" books, and you will get 7,827 results. Help yourself. Take responsibility
for your life. That is the trend. "Along with your physical
changes, you are also becoming more independent. You are starting
to make more choices about your life. You are relying less on your
parents and more on yourself and your friends when making decisions.
Some of the biggest choices that you face are those about your health....Now
is the time to take charge of your health by eating better and being
more physically active. Even small changes will help you look and
feel your best!" You've decided that you want to start the year off right. You want to make some changes and improve your life. You want to take responsibility. Where do you start? If you are looking to books or websites for help, does it still count as self help? Realizing that you can't do it all on your own is part of helping yourself, but before you look for guidance, be sure that you are looking to a trustworthy source. Whether you are looking
for: "Five Ways to Heal a Broken Heart" Or you could "really
use some advice on how to de-stress both your body and your mind?
Knowing how to deal can be half the battle!" Have a temper? "One healthy
way to deal with your anger (one that works great with parents in
particular) is the cool down approach. Here it is in four easy steps..." While the sites listed above are trustworthy and reputable, they may not be just right for you. "Four easy steps" may work for someone else, but it may take you eight difficult steps to make the same progress. If you are dealing with a major problem that is seriously affecting your life to the point where you know you need help, three pages of online information can only be a start... We often think of self
help as getting our behaviors and attitudes on the right track,
but what about medical information? With more and more medical information
available online, can you get what you need without ever visiting
a doctor? You can even "Search by Symptom" to see what
you might have... The familiydoctor.org website,
is also one that you can depend on for reputable information. One
indicator that a site is reputable is that if your symptoms match
those that might be cause for concern, it will tell you to see your
doctor. To help yourself, it helps
to know what you're talking about. Part of taking responsibility
for your life, and for improving your life, is realizing that you
might not know how to do everything yourself. That is where some
assistance from self help books and websites can be useful, but
before you start to follow someone else, make sure that they know
more than you do, and they are worth trusting. Also, know that you
don't have to do it all alone. Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
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