For an index of Self-Help tracks see Self-Help Indexes (in progress).
There are some people who may be using this site to perform self-help on themselves -- and there are things that need to be said on the topic of self-help. [Author's note: as a self-help bootstrapper, we're speaking from experience -- The Crisses]
You are helping no-one -- least of all yourself -- if your life is spinning out of control while you neglect your basic responsibilities or needs in order to make a heroic attempt to help yourself. Try tackling things slowly and taking things one step at a time -- start with the easier stuff and work your way towards more entrenched or difficult (read "trigger-happy") topics. Problems that you have now are unlikely to have developed overnight. It is likely that one simple problem has been compounded by additional problems, that uncovering one facet of yourself can cause an avalanche, and that you may find yourself overwhelmed. And then, we have to mention the multiples out there — who are yet more complicated (I bet you thought we were talking about multiples all along! ;) ).
The best and easiest places to start are with very generic for-the-masses self-help volumes like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (by Stephen R. Covey). Self-help notes on this site may lead you down some pretty rough corridors, and WE ARE NOT PROFESSIONALS. We can't be held accountable for what you do, where the exercises or suggestions on this site lead you, or what you uncover. And maybe you can't either. We make no guarantees and can't have responsibility for your actions, or what people may have put you through -- and we have no responsibility for what the other people in your head may have to share or what they may do.
Anything that does not feel right, or which frightens you, you may not be ready for. It is ok to NOT do the exercises or try out suggestions -- they are just suggestions and things that have helped other people, that we wished to document and share for professional and amateur interest, and to give options, ideas, and potential launchpads to people.
So what this is essentially saying is:
- Think before you do anything.
- Have a back-up plan, a friend, someone watching your kids, etc. before you try anything i.e. take care of your responsibilities including your responsibility to yourself and your own safety.
- Think twice. Especially before trying things that cause you apprehension or anxiety.
- Start slow, with something popular that is intended for "everybody" rather than abuse, which will have immediate benefits and long-term results if you use it (this is good practice for any self-help and will encourage you to try more).
Eventually y'all may have outgrown other resources and want to move on to more advanced headwork.