The internet is full of websites promising magical cures, instant fixes, and some seriously weird self therapy. All of which comes under the title of "Self Help" and over 99% of which is absolute crap that will never work.The self help field has received billions of dollars of marketing investment and unfortunately a lot of people who haven’t deserved it have become hugely rich off the backs of people who simply don’t do enough research or are very desperate. In 2008 the self help industry was worth $11 billion in America alone which was a 13.6% increase from 2005, this is an astounding figure and with social phobias (among many other mind related issues) on the rise what is the self help industry really achieving?

I think a possible solution to the rise in many mental health problems is a change in attitude for the masses. "Self Help" suggests that you are stuck and in need of some serious intervention. Now while this may be true it’s not very helpful, because a great many people don’t like asking for help or feel they can’t ask for help. The only way for them is to wait until things get so bad that they call a crisis line.

With an attitude of "Self Investment" you don’t have the many stigmas that are attached to "getting help". Anyone and everyone should be investing in themselves every single day in some form or another. Self investment can be earning a new qualification, learning something new, or even doing something that makes you feel good just because you’re not in great mood. Also with self investment there can be a greater sense of achievement that you’ve made an accomplishment, and accomplishments breed accomplishments. Getting help allows a victim mentality which can cause you to stay stuck, whereas investing suggests you will be setting yourself up for payouts either in the near future or further on down the road, which is completely true.

Start today, and make one small investment in yourself, then tomorrow make another, and so on and so forth until you are a completely different much happier person! Go on, what’s stopping you?