Self-help books are big business and the self-help section in many bookstores attract more traffic than any other section.
But how much of it really works? All those books from “experts” telling you “this book will change your life” still keep selling even though there is very little evidence any of the advice offered is of any use beyond temporarily making you feel better by buying the book.
Richard Wiseman, author of Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives has now written a book that provides the best scientific evidence for all these techniques: 59seconds- Think a Little. Change a Lot.
Amongst the casualties are Positive Affirmations and Brainstorming; and psychoanalysis has also precious little evidence to support it. More useful it seems might be writing your own eulogy and “expressive writing”.
