Selfhood: A Key to the Recovery of Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health and the Prevention of Mental Health Problems

Low self-esteem is often referred to as a cause of emotional and mental health problems. Through working for over ten years with people experiencing emotional and mental distress, including hundreds of people experiencing anxiety and people diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, OCD, Dr. Terry Lynch came to realize that there was much more to it than low self-esteem. He found that a reduced sense of self is an ever-present feature of people experiencing a lot of anxiety and those diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses. In "Selfhood", Terry Lynch sets out what he has found to be the components of a solid sense of self. He outlines many actions that people can take to raise their sense of self. Terry outlines how he works in his recovery-focused mental health practice. Aspects of selfhood discussed in this book include boundaries and personal space; self-centredness; self-belonging; self-containment; comfort zones; self-talk; emotions and how to deal with them; self-attunement (including mindfulness); self-knowledge; self-contact; sexuality; self-care; self-relationship;self-love; self-empathy; needs and need-meeting; self-support; self-regulation; self-comforting; self-perception; self-respect; self-discipline; self-honesty; self-honesty; self-revelation; self-acceptance;self-forgiveness; self-will; self-generated security; self-confidence; self-belief; self-empowerment; self-expression; self-actualization; creativity; selfhood and relationships. The most important relationship each of us has is our relationship with ourselves. "Selfhood" sets out how our sense of self becomes reduced, and how to recover our sense of self.