Self help books and tapes are one of the largest segments of the publishing industry. Many of these self help tapes are designed to teach self hypnosis. People who have tried fad diets without result, tried to quit smoking, or to avoid some other self destructive form of behavior often turn to hypnosis, and many of those people turn to self hypnosis. Bruce Bell, a psychologists, in fact treats his patients with self hypnosis methods. He treated himself and lost 25 kilograms of excess weight. His ideas are that while all diets work, they all become boring and self hypnosis is a way for him and his patients to motivate themselves beyond their normal limitations.

Of course self hypnosis and self help tapes have long been a staple of the business arena. Sales people buy self help tapes and engage in self hypnosis constantly and consistently. Find a successful salesman who has not accumulated a library of self help tapes that he uses to improve skills and improve self esteem, engage in self motivation, and encourage excellence. Find a salesman who does not have those habits and you'll find something rare indeed. Indeed, in the car of most traveling salesmen, it is easy to find a library of self help tapes by Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Joe Gerard, Napoleon Hill, or Kim Klaver. Those engaged in home based businesses often also find encouragement from self help tapes. The works of Norman Vincent Peele and of Dale Carnegie have also been transmitted to taped audio form and are extremely popular.

Why would a person engage in self hypnosis when hypnosis practitioners are so readily available? Many people are embarrassed by the problem or behavior that they wish to correct. Many of them are ashamed to see another human being and actually admit to them that they have a problem. For them self hypnosis is a way of keeping the problem, and the solution to the problem private. They also tend to be more self reliant people who try to handle most problems themselves, which can be either good or bad depending on the person and their own capabilities. Taking the leap to self help is hard enough for many people, and maintaining their privacy helps many.