Can Books Improve Your Mental State? (A Fascinating Research Of Self-Help Books)

As you already know, I have a hobby of collecting psychological research. I have so much that when you open my files, you can get lost there like in a rabbit hole—disappear forever. Now that I have collected so much, it’s time to share.

So today, I will tell you about one of the researches conducted at the University of Alabama Medical Center, which created a lot of doubt. Researchers assigned 60 depressed patients into two groups and reported having to wait four weeks to see a therapist. Only one of two groups was offered to read David Burns’s book “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.”  The assistant called all the participants in the experiment every week and surveyed their well-being. 

At the end of the fourth week of waiting, two-thirds of the patients who read the book felt significantly better. The improvements were so dramatic that they did not need further treatment. Patients who had not read the book did not show any improvement.

The researchers concluded that bibliotherapy is an effective way of self-help. And also economical.

I would agree, but… 

How do you think what made a bigger influence? Was it the book or the fact that assistants called interviewees? 

Eventually, the study results highlighted the benefits of the book, but the help of assistants was written off… Eh… 

In any case, it proves that if you want to change, then you should use not only books but other tools as well. 

The more methods you use, the better. 

If you want to achieve better results, read about self-help techniques that will change your mindset:  

How to be happy

How to reach your goals