Balancing the self : medicine, politics and the regulation of health in the twentieth century / edited by Mark Jackson and Martin Moore.

Balancing the Self explores the diverse ways in which balanced and unbalanced selfhoods have been subject to construction, intervention and challenge across the long twentieth century. Chapters on diabetes, 'sensible drinking', obesity control, dietetic regulation, fatigue, heart disease, physical and emotional extremes, Parkinson's disease and other conditions understood in terms of disordered balance analyse the ways in which the mechanisms and meanings of balance have been framed historically. Together, contributions examine the positive narratives that have been attached to the ideals and practices of "self-help", and the extent to which rhetorics of empowerment and responsibility have been used for a variety of purposes, from disciplining bodies to cutting social security provision.