How to Accept Yourself - By Dr Windy Dryden - A Sheldon Press Book

Self-acceptance is the art of accepting yourself, warts and all, with your strengths and weaknesses, rather than constantly striving towards change and improvement. It lies at the heart of happiness, because until you accept yourself as the person you are, you cannot be truly content.

Windy Dryden, Professor of Psychotherapeutic Studies and author of many self-help books, uses realistic, straightforward and refreshingly practical techniques to help anyone who wants to shake off a sense of anxiety self-doubt and discontent.

He offers the stories of many people who have made his approach work for them, and gives examples to show you how to put the ideas into practice, to help you make real and positive change in your life.

How to Accept Yourself

Contents

Introduction

1. Do you have a problem with low self-esteem?
2. The importance of unconditional self-acceptance
3. Specify your problems and set goals
4. Analyse your self-depreciation problems using the ABC framework
5. Question your beliefs
6. Strengthen your conviction in your healthy beliefs
7. Act on your healthy beliefs
8. Develop a realistic view of yourself and your life experiences
9. Commit yourself to maintaining and extending your developing self-acceptance philosophy

Index

How to Accept Yourself

Introduction

There are many books on the market which offer to help you to improve your self-esteem. This book is different. I am not going to help you to improve your self-esteem. Rather, I am going to outline ways in which you can develop self-acceptance. No, I'm not splitting hairs, being pedantic or just playing with words. In my view, self-esteem and self-acceptance are different concepts, and I regard the latter to be far healthier for you than the former.

Are you intrigued? I hope so. But I will not discuss these points here in the introduction. Rather, I will take this opportunity to invite you to read this book and embark with me on a journey that is arduous, but fulfilling: the journey towards self-acceptance.

About the author:  Windy Dryden was born in London in 1950. He has worked in psychotherapy and counselling for over 30 years, and is the author or editor of over 160 books, including Overcoming Anxiety, Overcoming Guilt, Assertiveness Step by Step (written with Daniel Constantinou Sheldon Press, 2004). Dr Dryden is Professor of Psychotherapeutics at Goldsmiths College, University of London.