In general, my writing is more enthusiastic than the evidence would call for, but alas I must excite my readers and get the pageviews. My interpretation is that although some of the studies (e.g. keeping a gratitude journal improves symptoms of depression) may be flawed, follow 10 of them at the same time, and you’ll likely have included something that works. No smoking guns, of course.
‘my writing is more enthusiastic than the evidence would call for, but alas I must excite my readers and get the pageviews’
For my money, that’s just contemptible. And there’s no ‘must’ about it: you can, and probably should, stop doing that, even if it means you get less pageviews.
I wrote an article listing the evidence for 54 suggested strategies for increasing happiness.
http://happierhuman.com/how-to-be-happy/
In general, my writing is more enthusiastic than the evidence would call for, but alas I must excite my readers and get the pageviews. My interpretation is that although some of the studies (e.g. keeping a gratitude journal improves symptoms of depression) may be flawed, follow 10 of them at the same time, and you’ll likely have included something that works. No smoking guns, of course.
The majority of the things you name as most effective are basically impossible to implement for a seriously depressed person.
‘my writing is more enthusiastic than the evidence would call for, but alas I must excite my readers and get the pageviews’
For my money, that’s just contemptible. And there’s no ‘must’ about it: you can, and probably should, stop doing that, even if it means you get less pageviews.