Is Self-Help a Scam?

Is Self-Help a Scam?

From Said in Therapy by Iman Tohami

May 15, 2026 · 14 min

About this episode

Iman Tohami critiques the self-help industry, exploring its flaws and the impact of productivity culture on personal growth.

You've read the books. You've done the challenges. You've started the morning routine more times than you can count. So why does it feel like you're still in the same place? In this episode, Iman Tohami goes after one of the most profitable, and most protected, industries in the world: self-help. Not because growth isn't real, but because the industry selling it to you might be financially invested in you never quite getting there. We get into why productivity culture is often just fear in a better outfit, how real therapeutic work exposes everything self-help gets wrong, and why telling people to journal their way out of a broken system isn't empowerment — it's blame dressed up as inspiration. Plus: what actually works, according to research and the therapy room. This one will make you think twice before buying the next book.

People in this episode

Host: Iman Tohami

Topics covered

  • self-help
  • productivity culture
  • mental health
  • therapy
  • personal growth

Keywords

  • self-help
  • productivity
  • mental health
  • therapy
  • journaling
  • personal growth
  • empowerment

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