This reminds me of the old Smokey the Bear slogan, "Only you can prevent forest fires."

No, no I can't. Sure I can make sure I'm not an arsonist but I can't stop the fires caused by lightning. That just happens. I'd be psychotic if I thought I could prevent those.

For me, "Only you can help yourself" is a way of laying the responsibility solely on the sick. And it minimizes community responsibility. Actually, YOU can help me.

YOU (my first psychiatrist who was stupider than a rock) could have recognized that me saying that everything was better after only two weeks of Prozac for depression meant that you should have checked for hypomania (which is what it was).

YOU (my stupid psychologist when I was in grad school) should have recognized that my forgetfulness and extreme lack of organization meant that you should have talked with me about the possibility of ADHD.

YOU (my next stupid psychiatrist) should have recognized that keeping your suspicion that I had BP2 to yourself and not putting me on a freaking mood stabilizer was causing me to damage my relationships.

My point is - can we help ourselves? Sure, if we actually know what the problem is and have the resources and the level of functioning to do so. But so many times other people shirk their responsibility to help their fellow human.