Scott Alexander critiques therapy books, highlighting their exaggerated claims and questioning the validity of their approaches, based on his clinical experience and historical misdiagnoses in psychology. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews the common patterns in therapy books, noting their tendency to promise miraculous results and criticize previous methods. He observes that while these books claim extraordinary success, his clinical experience doesn't match these claims. The post explores the concept of 'historicism' in therapy, where current problems are linked to past traumas, and questions the validity of this approach. Scott expresses skepticism about the dramatic transformations described in therapy books, comparing them to past misguided theories about mental health conditions. He concludes by warning readers to be cautious when evaluating individual therapy books, as they can be convincing in isolation but problematic when viewed as part of a larger trend. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander speculates about mental feedback loops, their relation to various disorders, and how increased self-awareness might accidentally worsen them. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of mental feedback loops, where emotions or thoughts can spiral out of control. He discusses how the brain usually prevents this, but sometimes fails, leading to conditions like OCD and anxiety disorders. He speculates that making people more aware of their mental states might accidentally increase these loops. The post then connects this idea to serotonergic drugs and their effects on thought patterns, ending with some admittedly speculative ideas about how LSD might affect mental 'loop sizes'. Shorter summary