self-help - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From self- +‎ help.

self-help (uncountable)

1. The practice of bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others.

   a self-help book

   • 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings‎^[1], New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 91:

     Look at the self-help titles in the bookstore, and you'll get a few clues about our culture. They're all about aggression and acquisition. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see a book called How to Force your Will on Other People by Giving Them the Shaft and Fucking Them out of Their Money.

2. (law) An act of redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions rather than through legal proceedings.

   self-help repossession

• (act of bettering oneself): self-improvement