Today’s society relies heavily on individualism. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Today, I will not try to dispute that claim. Instead, I present some disillusion about self-help, mainly about other people recommending something to everyone. Non-personalized help.
While I am no stranger to self-help and would not be too quick to criticize the entire area, I wish to shed light on one particular issue. While the ideas often work, it is not always the case. Because too often, your situation is not a general one. Sometimes the people around you are not the same as are around the author of such help.
And that is the problem, in my opinion. People giving advice on how to behave tell you how to behave if you wish to be them. That is sometimes clear but sometimes hidden by pretending that their help is the general, ultimate truth. A similar issue is present in the most crucial argument against patriarchy. A society dominated by men can hardly accommodate all members in the same way unless consisting of men alone.
To circle back, my conclusion is such: If someone tries to give you advice or to tell you how to help yourself, beware if your situation is similar to theirs. Or if they are capable of understanding your situation. Even if their advice looks general.