In a word: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I reviewed several self-help books with a wide range of scientific backing. For posterity:
Polyvagal Theory
The Tapping Solution/EFT
Full Catastrophe Living/Mindfulness
Exercise for Mood and Anxiety
A Guide to Better Movement
There were a few others I never published because I didn’t get very far into.
As a reminder, epistemic spot checks are checking a book’s early claims for truth/scientific validity/coherent modeling, to determine whether it’s worth continuing. After a few books I concluded that scientific backing didn’t seem that predictive of a book’s helpfulness, and started focusing on modeling. But that wasn’t predictive either.
I never officially decided to quit this project, but I can no longer get excited about checking out a new book, because nothing short of trying it seems to have any predictive ability of whether or not it is helpful. This leads me to believe that most of the effects are placebo effect, not in the sense of “imagined” as people usually use the word, but in the sense that it’s your own brain doing most of the work, and people just have to try things until something clicks for them, starting with the cheapest. I find this answer deeply unsatisfying, but what are you gonna do?
Aceso Under Glass 