We all need "a helping hand" with our emotional health at some point in our lives. The most reliable hands to call on for this help are our own. But instead of helping ourselves, many of us habitually hurt ourselves. This is what Cynthia Morton calls a "self-sabotaging cycle". How and what we say to ourselves when reacting to life - our silent self-talk - is where self-encouragement or self-sabotage is born - it's an inside job.

Self-talk is much like a hammer: you can use it to build or destroy. Cynthia Morton uses two powerful symbols to illustrate this. The "crippled claw" is destructive self-talk - the denial, fear and guilt that prevent us helping ourselves. The "helping hand" is constructive self-talk. It is not only a language of words but of actions. Courage, love, wisdom, freedom and peace become visual characters that offer suggestions and simple daily assistance.

'A Helping Hand' is an invaluable tool, not only for those with addictive personalities and traumatic pasts, but for anyone who occasionally sabotages the "good stuff" in their life and is looking for solutions that work.