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Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement〔''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.〕—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. Many different self-help group programs exist, each with its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders. Concepts and terms originating in self-help culture and Twelve-Step culture, such as recovery, dysfunctional families, and codependency have become firmly integrated in mainstream language.〔Micki McGee. ''Self-Help, Inc.: Makeover culture in American Life'' (Oxford 2005) p. 188.〕 Self-help often utilizes publicly available information or support groups, on the Internet as well as in person, where people in similar situations join together.〔 From early examples in self-driven legal practice〔Steve Salerno (2005) ''Sham: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless'', ISBN 1-4000-5409-5 pp. 24–25〕 and home-spun advice, the connotations of the word have spread and often apply particularly to education, business, psychology and psychotherapy, commonly distributed through the popular genre of self-help books. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', potential benefits of self-help groups that professionals may not be able to provide include friendship, emotional support, experiential knowledge, identity, meaningful roles, and a sense of belonging.〔 Groups associated with health conditions may consist of patients and caregivers. As well as featuring long-time members sharing experiences, these health groups can become support groups and clearing-houses for educational material. Those who help themselves by learning and identifying about health problems can be said to exemplify self-help, while self-help groups can be seen more as peer-to-peer support. ==History== Within classical antiquity, Hesiod's ''Works and Days'' "opens with moral remonstrances, hammered home in every way that Hesiod can think of."〔 John Boardman et al eds., ''The Oxford History of the Classical World'' (Oxford 1991), p. 94〕 The Stoics offered ethical advice "on the notion of ''eudaimonia''—of well-being, welfare, flourishing."〔Boardman, p. 371〕 The genre of mirror-of-princes writings, which has a long history in Greco-Roman and Western Renaissance literature, represents a secular cognate of Biblical wisdom-literature. Proverbs from many periods, collected and uncollected, embody traditional moral and practical advice of diverse cultures. The hyphenated compound word "self-help" often appeared in the 1800s in a legal context, referring to the doctrine that a party in a dispute has the right to use lawful means on their own initiative to remedy a wrong.〔 The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (2nd edition, 1989) traces legal usage back to at least 1875; whereas it detects "self-help" as a moral virtue as early as 1831 in Carlyle's ''Sartor Resartus''. 〕 For some, George Combe's "''Constitution''(), in the way that it advocated personal responsibility and the possibility of naturally sanctioned self-improvement through education or proper self-control, largely inaugurated the self-help movement;"〔John H. Wyle, ''Phrenology'' (2004) p. 189〕 In 1841, an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, entitled Compensation, was published suggesting "every man in his lifetime needs to thank his faults" and "acquire habits of ''self-help''" as "our strength grows out of our weakness."〔Ralph Waldo Emerson, ''Compensation'' (1841) p. 22 (Essays )〕 Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) published the first self-consciously personal-development "self-help" book—entitled ''Self-Help''—in 1859. Its opening sentence: "Heaven helps those who help themselves", provides a variation of "God helps them that help themselves", the oft-quoted maxim that had also appeared previously in Benjamin Franklin's ''Poor Richard's Almanac'' (1733–1758). In the 20th century, "Carnegie's remarkable success as a self-help author"〔Steven Starker, ''Oracle at the Supermarket'' (2002) p. 63〕 further developed the genre with ''How to Win Friends and Influence People'' in 1936. Having failed in several careers, Carnegie became fascinated with success and its link to self-confidence, and his books have since sold over 50 million copies.〔O'Neil, William J. (2003). ''Business Leaders & Success: 55 Top Business Leaders & How They Achieved Greatness''. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-07-142680-9〕 Earlier in 1902 James Allen published ''As a Man Thinketh'', which proceeds from the conviction that "a man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts." Noble thoughts, the book maintains, make for a noble person, whilst lowly thoughts make for a miserable person; and Napoleon Hill's ''Think and Grow Rich'' (1937) described the use of repeated positive thoughts to attract happiness and wealth by tapping into an "Infinite Intelligence".〔Starker, Steven (2002). ''Oracle at the Supermarket: The American Preoccupation With Self-Help Books''. Transaction Publishers. p. 62. ISBN 0-7658-0964-8〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Self-help」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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