This article is my short review of Marianne Power's book: What nonsense. How 12 books on psychology first destroyed my life, and then put it back together. One of the few books that I read in a few days and with great pleasure. The author of the book is a journalist, her age is approaching 40, and there is chaos in her life: she is not she’s married, she doesn’t have her own apartment, she doesn’t have a good relationship with money, she’s dissatisfied with her appearance and lifestyle. Underneath her answers to the question “How are you? - Everything’s fine” is a silent and drawn-out “I’m unhappy.” And then one day or not A very wonderful moment of morning feeling, hmm, dry mouth after a fun party, she understands that changes are vital. And she approaches this creatively. She decides to master 12 best-selling self-help books over the course of a year, which should change her life. The books can be divided into topics: - relationships with money - fulfillment of desires - fighting fears - motivation and potential The girl tried affirmations, talking to her angel, making cards desires, practiced refusals, took motivation courses and was even able to feel like part of the adherents of the cult of self-development with Tony. Some books could help you look at life, behavior and thoughts from a different perspective. Some advice was useful, but... As a result, without finishing reading the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” the author experienced not enlightenment, but depression. Low mood, morning anxiety, poor sleep and decreased ability to work. What was wrong with self-help books? The books that the author read created a feeling of separation from real life. Because life is not only ups, but also downs that we must accept. These books seemed to force you to raise the bar and tirelessly strive for it, forgetting why this book came into your hands. What helped the author get out of depression? Support from loved ones, rest and psychotherapy. And also a book that does not contain directives on how to live, what actions you need to do to become rich, happy and slim. I have not read this book, but the author’s excerpts about the attitude towards thoughts are very reminiscent of modern evidence-based techniques for working with disturbing thoughts. And my share of philosophy. A few of my conclusions: - Self-development and improving life is good only if we do it not in isolation from life itself and our values. - Self-development should not take the guise of a race. - Carefully approach the choice of books. Nowadays you can find a lot of great self-help books for anxiety, OCD, BPD, etc. Choose what has been tested by experts. And briefly about Marianne’s book: “The secret of happiness is in the next book, learn to be happy right now.” If you have not read this book, then I recommend it. I also liked the author’s style and the way she writes about herself with a bit of good self-irony. This makes it easier to be less critical of yourself. What experience do you have with self-help books??