Your Own Worst Enemy: Understanding the Paradox of Self-Defeating Behavior (Hardcover)

~ Steven Berglas (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While many of us may practice self-defeating behavior, most of us --contrary to conventional wisdom--don't really harbor a secret death wish, aver psychotherapist Berglas ( The Success Syndrome ) and research psychologist Baumeister ( Meanings of Life ). Observing that self-defeating acts can take myriad and devious forms, they compile numerous examples of how people create their own obstacles. Berglas and Baumeister buttress their list of self-sabotaging mechanisms with references to such memorable self-defeaters as Greta Garbo and Gary Hart. More descriptive than prescriptive, their approach may seem inadequate to readers who are looking for a blueprint for change. Nevertheless, the authors clearly demonstrate the insidious ways that people defeat themselves, and drive home the point that people's failure to achieve long-term goals often results from their choosing short-term pleasures instead.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Most understandable to those who have done upper-level or graduate work in psychology and/or counseling, this book seeks to explain how and why people act in ways antithetical to their well-being. Berglas (clinical psychology, Harvard Medical Sch.) and Baumeister (psychology, Case Western Reserve) postulate that self-defeating behavior may be a form of coping mechanism to avoid the responsibilities that success affords. Both authorities in the field--Berglas wrote Self-Handicapping (Plenum, 1990), and Baumeister, Masochism and the Self (Erlbaum, 1989)--they point out that self-defeat may take many forms, i.e., procrastination, drug abuse or overdose, interpersonal abuse, or failure to follow directions. A more sophisticated adjunct to Judith Sills's Excess Baggage: Getting Out of Your Own Way ( LJ 12/92), this is recommended for academic and comprehensive public collections.
- Scott Johnson, Meridian Community Coll. Lib., Miss.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465076807
• ISBN-13: 978-0465076802
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #541,898 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)