Self Help Resources
Many people can benefit from using self-help booklets as an aid
to understand the problems they are experiencing and learn new ways
to help them deal with those problems. In this section we
are offering booklets on a range of mental health problems that are
known to benefit from self-help. These can be particularly
beneficial to those with less severe problems. Browse our list of
self-help guides below:
This document will help you with the practical issues that need to be faced after a suicide, talk about some of the emotions you might be experiencing and suggest some places where you can get help.
download (237
kb)
If you have a problem with anger you probably already know it, but these are some of the signs that you may have difficulty controlling anger. This booklet is a guide to understanding anger and its causes.
download (573
kb)
Relaxation is a very powerful tool. When people are stressed over a long period of time, they can often wake up feeling tense and go to bed feeling tense. This guides provides information on how to relax and various relaxation techniques.
download (321
kb)
A guide to being assertive. Assertiveness is the ability to stand up for ourselves and to say how we feel when we feel we need to.
download (87
kb)
A self help guide to chronic pain. Chronic pain affects millions of people in the UK, so you're not alone. It can have a huge impact on your quality of life, and can also affect the lives of your family and those around you.
There is no one way to cope with the feelings any of us has after the death of someone close to us. We all feel differently and we all cope in different ways. This is a guide to coping with bereavement and grief.
download (533
kb)
This book contains information and advice for people who care for someone in the middle to late stages of dementia (moderate to severe dementia).
Everyone worries from time to time. Too much worry can be bad as it leaves us feeling tense and anxious. This guide will provide you with useful information for coping with worry.
download (516
kb)
This leaflet is designed to provide practical information for anyone who is caring for someone with dementia on ways to tackle problems which can occur with eating and drinking in everyday life.
download (1.15
mb)
Depression is a very common problem and many people feel low or down in the dumps at times. This is a self help guide to provide information on how to identify and cope with depression.
download (566
kb)
A booklet for those who are either worried about dementia or who have been diagnosed. It provides reassurance and suggests practical steps to improve or maintain dignity and the quality of life as far as possible.
Leaflets covering a range of mental health problems are available free of charge from NHS Lanarkshire’s Health Improvement Library as part of the Healthy Reading Programme. Order your leaflets using this form.
download (204
kb)
We all have problems in our day-to-day lives. At times these can cause anxiety, stress and distress. So what can be done? This is a guide to help you solve your problems successfully.
download (247
kb)
Hyperventilation means breathing in more than your body needs. Another way to describe it is to say ‘over-breathing’. This guide will help you identify and deal with hyperventilation.
download (241
kb)
Mental health and well-being is about the way we think and feel and this in turn impacts on how we behave. We know that people who are affected by homelessness are at greater risk of experiencing stress and low mood because of the wide impact that this has on our lives. This leaflet has been developed to let us know that we are not alone. There are steps that we can take to look after our own mental health but also services that are there to support us.
download (178
kb)
MyRap is a self-management tool to support people in taking control over their own wellbeing and recovery.
download (2.76
mb)
MyRap is a self-management tool to support people in taking control over their own wellbeing and recovery.
download (932
kb)
Self Help for Obsessions and Compulsions
Self Help for Post-Traumatic Stress. Post-Traumatic Stress can occur after a significant incident that is out of the ordinary.
Self-harm is when a person causes physical damage to him or herself. It usually involves activities such as cutting or scratching with sharp objects. This leaflet looks at how to learn to cope with and stop self-harming.
download (245
kb)
Social anxiety is the term used to describe a high level of shyness. Of course everyone feels shy or anxious in certain social environments, but for some people it can be a little more extreme.
This leaflet will tell you more about stress, it will help you to see whether stress is a problem for you. It makes simple suggestions about how to overcome stress and what other help may be available.
download (508
kb)
Christmas can be a very difficult time for people in recovery from alcohol and drug problems. Lanarkshire Recovery Consortium has produced a booklet which offers practical tips and advice from people who are in recovery on how to cope with a range of issues including services being reduced, other people drinking and having parties, transport over the festive period, how to manage debt and even what to do with leftover Christmas dinner!
download (865
kb)
Lots of people have suicidal thoughts and have worked through them. It can feel much worse if you are alone. You don’t need to be. There are people who are willing, able and available to help you.
download (1.78
mb)
A traumatic event is one that is unusual and unexpected and that causes deep distress to a person. This is a guide to identity and deal with trauma.
download (244
kb)
Everyone knows what panic is, and it is common to feel panicky from time to time, this guide will help deal with panic and panic attacks.
download (516
kb)
This booklet is for people who are worried about their memory. Sometimes people are afraid that forgetfulness is the start of something else, like dementia. This can worry older people especially.