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Sale of self-help books hits record highs in UK amid increasing anxiety

Sunday, 10 March 2019 7:22 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 10 March 2019 7:27 PM ]

An employee sorts the shelves inside The Second Shelf bookshop in central London on March 6, 2019. (AFP photo)

The sale of self-help books has hit record high in the UK as people in the country continue to struggle with increasing levels of anxiety and stress.

The Observer said in a report that Britons had bought some 20 percent more of books focused on self-improvement or pop psychology last year, causing the sale of such books to top an all-time high record.

Experts say the record sale is a clear indicator of growing anxiety and stress in Britain, a country struggling with political and economic uncertainty.

Paul Sweetman, owner of City Books in the seaside town of Hove, said the books mostly fit stressed-out people who turn to celebrities, psychologists and internet gurus in search of an advice on how to cope with their daily-life problems.

“People come into the shop and they’re really fed up about things. They’re looking for reassurances and peace of mind, so self-help books have become incredibly popular,” said Sweetman, adding that the political climate in Britain was a main reason for people to feel the need for uplifting reading.

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This comes as self-help books, viewed by most experts as low quality reading, are mostly written by unprofessional and less-educated people whose advice on mental health could even cause problems.

“The new batch of writers are not getting all la-de-da about stuff like mindfulness and mental health – they’re saying this is why it works, this is how you can do it and this is my experience,” said Marie Moser, owner of the Edinburgh Bookshop.

The findings come amid numerous reports suggesting levels of depression and anxiety continue to increase in Britain.

The country also suffers from an acute lack of social cohesion. Experts believe the problem exacerbated following the Brexit referendum in 2016 in which Britons narrowly voted for their country to leave the European Union after more than four decades of membership.

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