What You Can Change and What You Can't: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement [Paperback]

Martin E. Seligman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2007

In the climate of self-improvement that pervades our culture, there is an overwhelming amount of information about treatments for everything from alcohol abuse to sexual dysfunction. Much of this information is exaggerated if not wholly inaccurate. As a result, people who try to change their own troubling conditions often experience the frustration of mixed success, success followed by a relapse, or outright failure.

To address this confusion, Martin Seligman has meticulously analyzed the most authoritative scientific research on treatments for alcoholism, anxiety, weight loss, anger, depression, and a range of phobias and obsessions to discover what is the most effective way to address each condition. He frankly reports what does not work, and pinpoints the techniques and therapies that work best for each condition, discussing why they work and how you can use them to make long lasting change. Inside you’ll discover the four natural healing factors for recovering from alcoholism; the vital difference between overeating and being overweight; the four therapies that work for depression, the pros and cons of anger--and much more.

Wise, direct, and very useful, What You Can Change and What You Can’t will help anyone who seeks to change.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Psychologist Seligman ( Learned Optimism ) here examines common psychological disorders according to their biological and societal, or learned, components. Most enlightening are his analyses of the effectiveness of relaxation, meditation, psychoanalysis and cognitive therapies in the treatment of anxiety, which, along with depression and anger, he claims, can largely be controlled by disciplined effort. Tables demonstrating the success rates of various approaches to given problems, evaluative questionnaires and mostly jargon-free prose complement Seligman's comprehensive, unformulaic discussion. Maintaining that dieting will not help people who are overweight ("Weight is in large part genetic"), the author urges a focus on fitness and health; asserting that a child's psyche heals faster than an adult's, he observes that childhood trauma does not necessarily shape one's adult life: "the rest of the tapestry is not determined by what has been woven before." Direct, instructive and nonreductive, Seligman's observations and theories are positive, realistic and sound. 75,000 first printing; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Seligman (psychology, Univ. of Pennsylvania) has written a number of earlier books, including Learned Optimism ( LJ 11/91). In this latest, he examines the psychology of individual change. He begins by reviewing the history of psychological change and the role of psychiatric biology; he then examines the emotional changes that can alleviate everyday stress, panic, phobias, obsession, anger, and depression. Throughout, Seligman uses outcome studies to identify what works in making change. In the third section, he addresses physical change involving sex, diet, and alcohol. The author concludes by summarizing his beliefs that what you can change depends on the depth of the problem and that childhood trauma need not define an adult indefinitely. This extremely well-written book, while aimed at the lay reader, is appropriate for students and professionals as well. Highly recommended for both academic and public libraries.
- Kay Brodie, Chesapeake Coll., Wye Mills, Md.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400078407
• ISBN-13: 978-1400078400
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., is the Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, the director of the Positive Psychology Network, and former president of the American Psychological Association. Among his twenty books are Learned Optimism and The Optimistic Child.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 135 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary - Do yourself a favor - Order this book - NOW, June 23, 2000

By 

Dr. John T. Fleming - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What You Can Change and What You Can't: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement Learning to Accept Who You Are (Fawcett Book) (Paperback)

This is a book that everyone should own. In this book, Dr. Seligman wades through the swamp of self-help, psycho-babble,new-age gurus, common-sense ideas that "everyone" knows , medical thought, etc, etc in order to discover- WHAT REALLY WORKS. Not what we wish would work, not what seems like it should work, not what common wisdom believes works but what in clinical trials of real people has been demonstrated to work. What percentage has been helped, what are the side-effects and has this help been long-term or transitory. It is extremely readable, instructive and down to earth. He addresses the current state of treatment for: Anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, obsessions, depression, anger, post-traumatic stress, sex, dieting, alcohol. For most of these topics I learned more in his one chapter than in the several books which I have read on them. If you are on a diet, about to begin a diet, or considering professional help in one of the areas above - please read the chapter in this book first. You will save yourself an incredible amount of time, money and heartbreak in the long run. It will also give you the best chance of actually solving the problem since you will be directed towards the most effective treatment right from the beginning of treatment rather than (hopefully) eventually finding it by trial and error. I only hope that Dr Seligman writes an updated version of this book sometime in the near future in order to keep up with new research findings.

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Depressive Realism Applied to Self-Improvement Attempts, May 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: What You Can Change and What You Can't: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement Learning to Accept Who You Are (Fawcett Book) (Paperback)

With all the authority of a long and distinguished reseach career in psychology, Martin Seligman sets out to present something like a consumer guide to self-improvement and psychotherapy. (This is not a recipe book for dealing with your problems.)

The results are sobering: from the range of most frequent psychological afflictions, only a few will reliably be relieved by treatment. You can - with appropriate help from a responsible mental health professional - do something about

- panic attacks

- specific phobias (snakes, spiders, flying, etc.)

- sexual dysfunctions.

With other problems, such as depression and addiction, "moderate relief" is the best psychiatrists have to offer, often (when psychoactive medication is used) at a considerable price.

Beyond that,

- enjoy your sexual orientation,

- enjoy your weight (dieting will improve it upwards, in the long run),

- stop blaming unsatisfactory results of your adult life on your childhood and your parents - it won't do you any good, and there is much less of a causal relationship anyway.

All this is presented clearly, with "whys" and "hows", and with ample references. If you consider undergoing psychotherapy, or if you're stuck with a self-improvement attempt, this book may save you lots of money and trouble. (Being more or less left to your own devices may be a letdown, but it may also give you a realistic chance to cope with your situation.)

If you're professionally working in the mental health field, you will find much food for thought as well, especially in Seligman's candid statements about the many relevant questions that have not yet been scientifically settled or which even have not been researched at all. And unless you're a practicioner of that method, you may be slightly amused with the author's treatment of psychoanalysis - with disorder after disorder, it doesn't have much of an effect... Given the way our culture is soaked with psychoanalytic beliefs and assumptions, this is something that can't be said often enough

62 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Must-Have Guide for Self-Helpers, March 15, 2000

By 

Elizabeth (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What You Can Change and What You Can't: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement Learning to Accept Who You Are (Fawcett Book) (Paperback)

As a navel-gazing self-help junkie, I was surprised and a little annoyed when I discovered this book -- after all, I thought to myself, who can tell me what I can or cannot do? Never mind that I was overwhelmed with boatloads of conflicting information -- I didn't think ANYONE had the answers, and that it was necessary to try everything once. Well, thank God for Dr. Seligman. The book is a brilliantly simple yet deep exploration of the research available on treatments for various conditions -- and it turns out that there ARE answers available regarding what works and what doesn't. (And what you shouldn't even bother trying.) This book is a valuable resource for anyone trying to make sense of the self-help and treatment industries.