50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read for all human beings..., May 19, 1999
This review is from: Instant Analysis (Paperback)
Bringing psychology into plain English, Dr. David Lieberman offers a wealth of information that is useful for every reader. No one is immune from the emotional fragilities that accompany life. While some people are more stable than others, each individual has experienced certain fears and self-doubts. Leiberman artfully addresses many of these circumstances by identifying the problem, analyzing the situation and offering several solutions. The main text, which is divided into 100 easy to read and understand chapters, teaches the reader to overcome his or her self-defeating habits. Lieberman states, "By becoming aware of your behavior, thoughts and feelings, you make visible the process and gain the ability to see the harm." Thus, when one is able to indentify and admit self-defeating habits, one has taken the first step to conquering the problem, and is on the road to wellness. Lieberman states that the objective here is to break up the negative mental routine and break free from conditioned thought patterns. As he writes, "This is accomplished by looking objectively at specific behaviors that usually go unnoticed or unexamined. As you begin to question these behaviors, you will get in the 'habit' of not being in the habit." How does one identify these unnoticed behaviors? Dr. Lieberman does the work for the reader. By looking through the 100 chapters, the reader will be able to indentify with certain circumstances that he or she may not have noticed, because the self-defeating behavior has become habit. For example, several chapters include: "Why do I always stare at myself in the mirror?" "Why am I so absent-minded?" "Why am I so easily discouraged?" "Why do I misplace my keys, papers, and just about everything else?" (my favorite), "Why do I enjoy being angry"?, and "Why do I act cruelly to people I care about?" By scanning the table of contents, the reader ! ! will be able to identify several self-defeating habits that! the reader engages in -- realized or unrealized. By reading the entire text, the reader will understand basic human pyschology as a whole: the reader will understand his or her problems as well as the weaknesses of others. *Instant Analysis* is the modern "Cliff Notes" of human psychology. After identifying the problem, Dr. Lieberman describes several scenarios applicable to the the situation and offers several helpful solutions. For example, in the chapter concerning losing keys, etc. Lieberman offered several suggestions that has helped me overcome this most frustrating situation. *Instant Analysis* is a must-read for all human beings. As humans, no one is immune from self-defeating habits. By indentifying the problem and offering concise and powerful solutions, Dr. Leiberman can save each reader hundreds of dollars in psychiatric fees and hours of therapy. *Instant Analysis* is the bible of modern psychology, written for "everyday people."
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best self help books I've ever read, December 6, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Instant Analysis (Paperback)
I admit it. I've spent the better part of the past twenty years trying to find out why I think and do the things I do. Instant Analysis has done more for me than any other book, video, tape, or seminar ever has. It's clear and concise and best of all gave me short-term techniques that I was able to apply instantly. I'm not saying that I'm 'cured' but I feel much better about myself and life and feel like I've come so far--and it has only been about three weeks since my first read through. This book delivers and it's the best of its kind out there. If you want to feel better about life and yourself I say buy it and read it as soon as you can.
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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beat Analysis Paralysis and Become More Content, March 31, 2004
This review is from: Instant Analysis (Paperback)
Time-poor clients frequently ask for an easy to read guide to the analysis of self-defeating behaviors and this is one that I recommend for several reasons.
1 Lieberman is very clear about the intended audience for Instant Analysis. "Most people are almost happy. They're so close to being the kinds of people they want to be, living the kinds of lives they want to live, yet they are stuck in a mental rut."
2 Lieberman acknowledges the difficulties of direct introspection and concentrates on assisting the reader by "cutting away the clutter" and illuminating behaviors that have become an automatic response mechanism.
3 Lieberman has a plain and engaging writing style. The nutshell summaries are well-written and provide a good overview of the topics. The suggestions for change are simple, powerful, and (notionally) easy to implement.
The analysis of each self-defeating behavior is in three parts:
1 A concise description of particular behaviors, attitudes, and feelings that are consistent with the troublesome automatic responses.
2 A discussion of the response that includes plausible reasons for its creation and existence.
3 Simple techniques to force awareness of a response, and suggestions for changing the behavior.
Why Do I Enjoy Being Angry?
Issue: Enjoyment of anger and a reluctance to calm down and lose the sensation of power and vitality.
Discussion: Anger is usually a mask for fear and vulnerability. Anger can be a strong emotion that you feel in an otherwise numb existence. You may feel that no one pays attention to you unless you compel it. You may also enjoy getting angry because it makes you feel powerful.
Getting angry can alienate others and is rarely a good way to communicate effectively with them or enlist their support. It is an effective way to increase the risk for heart disease and to undermine your immune system.
Suggestions for change: Avoid inappropriate/disproportionate anger by identifying and acknowledging your feelings as they arise: what is causing the fear that underlies the anger?
Example: If you react with anger to trying situations, examine what you can do to prevent such occurrences. E.g., if your car tyres need air, top them up when you notice it, and avoid creating an avoidable drama when they blow in the middle of a journey to an important appointment.
If you rely on anger to make you feel powerful, then explore more benign ways to get the same feeling; e.g, take an advanced driver's course. If you crave high-stakes, high-drama excitement, then a challenging sport may be a good option, such as adventure excursions, white-water rafting or mountaineering.
Lieberman recommends a five phase process for loosening the hold of self-defeating behaviors and accepting control of your life; four of the stages are succinctly described in ten pages.
Some clients dislike Instant Analysis because they assume that it offers a quick fix or is too simple to meet the needs of people who have complex lives or whose behaviors cause them (and others) significant distress. One client told me that the techniques in the book were too simple just after he had told me two stories:
1 "Obesity is a ridiculous case of self-harming. Everyone knows that they need to eat fewer calories and do more exercise. It's that simple but no one wants to face it. They'd rather spend their time examining their relationships and blaming others. Or they're just too lazy to do what they know needs to be done."
2 "We've just had to pay out [the equivalent of 8.5 thousand dollars] to repair the water damage caused to the house by the recent leaks in the wet weather. It turned out that the gutters were blocked. It wasn't anything major at all and it caused all that damage."
Solutions to many issues are essentially simple and Lieberman describes them very well. The challenge to every reader is to know whether one is ready to implement them and be willing to change.
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