Editorial traceability

Editorial sources and evidence

The books, public guidance, and peer-reviewed research used to develop and review Not my noise articles and practical guides.

Source links document the editorial basis of this library. They do not imply endorsement of Not my noise by any author, publisher, university, public body, or journal.

Book foundations

Atomic Habits (opens in a new tab)James ClearAvery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018 · ISBN 9780735211292Popular behavioral book, not a clinical treatment manual. Habit techniques should not be presented as treatment for anxiety, depression, addiction, or other disorders. Tracking and streaks can be unhelpful for some people with perfectionistic or compulsive patterns.
Four Thousand Weeks (opens in a new tab)Oliver BurkemanFarrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021 · ISBN 9780374715243Philosophical and journalistic work, not a clinical protocol. Acceptance of limits must not be used to normalize burnout, depression, unsafe work, or lack of needed care. Mortality themes require extra care for readers in crisis or with severe death anxiety.
The Courage to Be Disliked (opens in a new tab)Ichiro Kishimi · Fumitake KogaDiamond, Inc. (original Japanese edition); Atria Books (cited English edition), 2013 · ISBN 9781501197277Popular presentation of Adlerian philosophy, not a clinical treatment manual. The book's categorical denial of trauma conflicts with contemporary clinical knowledge and must not be repeated as fact. Personal-choice framing can understate biological, social, economic, and safety constraints.
Unwinding Anxiety (opens in a new tab)Judson Brewer, MD, PhDAvery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2021 · ISBN 9780593421406The book draws on the author's clinical work and research but is not itself a peer-reviewed treatment protocol. The principal app trial was small and involved investigators connected to the product; results require independent replication. Internal-attention practices can intensify symptoms for some people with panic, trauma, or dissociation. New or concerning physical symptoms must not automatically be attributed to anxiety.
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? (opens in a new tab)Julie SmithMichael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, 2022 · ISBN 9780241529737Broad popular self-help reference, not an individualized formulation or treatment plan. Exercises involving exposure, breathing, nutrition, or inward attention are not suitable for every reader. Scientific claims paraphrased for a general audience still need claim-level checking against primary research. The source PDF contains an unrelated and medically unreliable second book after page 308; that material is excluded.

Public and clinical guidance

Treating Procrastination Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial (opens in a new tab)Behavior Therapy · 2018Structured CBT approaches can reduce severe procrastination in a studied university population.Limitations: Ninety-two university students; it does not establish that any single two-minute or prioritization exercise is sufficient.
Associations between constructs related to social relationships and mental health conditions and symptoms: an umbrella review (opens in a new tab)BMC Psychiatry · 2023Social isolation, loneliness, support, and network characteristics are associated with mental-health outcomes.Limitations: Most included evidence is associational; it does not prove that a specific relationship exercise causes improvement.
Smartphone screen time reduction improves mental health: a randomized controlled trial (opens in a new tab)BMC Medicine · 2025A temporary screen-time reduction produced small-to-medium improvements in several outcomes in healthy students.Limitations: Non-blinded trial in young healthy students; screen time rebounded, and findings do not justify labeling ordinary use as addiction.
The effects of psychosocial interventions on death anxiety: A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomised controlled trials (opens in a new tab)Journal of Anxiety Disorders · 2018Psychosocial interventions may reduce death anxiety; CBT showed promising results in the included trials.Limitations: Only fifteen trials, generally low quality; existential exercises alone should not be described as validated treatment.
Effects and Mechanisms of a Web- and Mobile-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Nurses (opens in a new tab)Journal of Medical Internet Research · 2023A structured ACT program improved symptoms in nurses, with psychological flexibility, defusion, and values among studied mechanisms.Limitations: Single occupational sample, wait-list comparison, attrition, and a multi-component program; does not validate isolated values prompts.
Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis (opens in a new tab)JAMA Internal Medicine · 2014Mindfulness meditation programs showed small improvements in anxiety, depression, and pain compared with nonspecific active controls.Limitations: Heterogeneous programs and populations; limited or insufficient evidence for several other claimed outcomes.
Clinical Efficacy and Psychological Mechanisms of an App-Based Digital Therapeutic for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (opens in a new tab)Journal of Medical Internet Research · 2021A small randomized trial found benefit from the full Unwinding Anxiety app added to treatment as usual for adults with GAD.Limitations: Sixty-five randomized participants, treatment-as-usual control, self-report outcomes, incomplete program completion, and need for independent replication; it does not validate each book chapter or NotMyNoise adaptation.
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing (opens in a new tab)Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2018Slow breathing is associated with autonomic and central nervous system changes relevant to arousal regulation.Limitations: Heterogeneous methods and outcomes; breathing exercises are not a universal treatment and can feel uncomfortable for some people.
Behavioural activation for depression: an update of meta-analysis of effectiveness and subgroup analysis (opens in a new tab)PLOS ONE · 2014Behavioral activation was effective for depression across included randomized trials.Limitations: Most included studies were low quality and follow-up was short; tiny self-help actions are not equivalent to a full treatment.
Stages of Grief Portrayed on the Internet: A Systematic Analysis and Critical Appraisal (opens in a new tab)Frontiers in Psychology · 2021The five-stage model should not be presented as a required, linear path for bereaved people.Limitations: Review of public web portrayals rather than a treatment trial; it is most useful as an editorial safety correction.
Treatment of complicated grief: a randomized controlled trial (opens in a new tab)JAMA · 2005A specialized psychotherapy outperformed interpersonal psychotherapy for complicated grief in the studied trial.Limitations: Applies to clinically significant complicated grief and a full therapist-delivered protocol, not ordinary grief or a short self-help guide.
Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral interventions to reduce elevated stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis (opens in a new tab)Internet Interventions · 2022Structured internet CBT interventions reduced self-rated stress across included randomized comparisons.Limitations: Multi-session CBT programs are not equivalent to a single relaxation or reframing exercise.
Mindfulness interventions for craving reduction in substance use disorders and behavioral addictions: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (opens in a new tab)BMC Neuroscience · 2023Mindfulness-based interventions may reduce craving in substance and behavioral addictions.Limitations: Very high heterogeneity, high risk of bias, and low GRADE certainty; authors could not confirm a stable medium-to-large effect.
Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management (opens in a new tab)NICE Clinical Guideline CG113, with later surveillance · 2011Stepped-care assessment and evidence-based management for GAD and panic disorder, including when self-help is insufficient.Limitations: UK guideline; local care pathways and emergency resources vary by country.
Depression in adults: treatment and management (opens in a new tab)NICE Guideline NG222 · 2022Assessment, treatment choice, monitoring, and escalation for depression in adults.Limitations: UK guideline; it supports care pathways rather than any particular NotMyNoise exercise.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (opens in a new tab)NICE Guideline NG116 · 2018Traumatic events can have clinically significant and persistent psychological consequences that require recognition, assessment, and evidence-based care.Limitations: UK guideline; it does not imply that every difficult past event causes PTSD or determines a person's future.
Help for Mental Illnesses (opens in a new tab)NIMH · 2026Practical routes to professional and urgent help when distress, safety, or functioning require more than self-help.Limitations: US-oriented resources; users elsewhere need localized services.

Peer-reviewed research

Psychology of Habit (opens in a new tab)Wendy Wood, Dennis RüngerAnnual Review of Psychology, 2016 · DOI 10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033417Context-dependent automaticity and evidence-based approaches to changing repeated behavior.Limitations: Narrative review; it supports broad habit mechanisms, not every specific tactic in a trade book.
Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement: A Meta-analysis of Effects and Processes (opens in a new tab)Peter M. Gollwitzer, Paschal SheeranAdvances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2006 · DOI 10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1Specific if-then plans can improve translation of intentions into action across many settings.Limitations: Effects vary by goal, population, implementation quality, and outcome; this does not validate a universal formula.
Targeting intolerance of uncertainty in treatment: A meta-analysis of therapeutic effects, treatment moderators, and underlying mechanisms (opens in a new tab)Michelle L. Miller, Joseph F. McGuireJournal of Affective Disorders, 2023 · DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.132Evidence-based anxiety treatments can reduce intolerance of uncertainty, and change is associated with symptom improvement.Limitations: The review covers full treatments, not isolated philosophical reframes or brief self-help prompts.
Interventions for improving psychological detachment from work: A meta-analysis (opens in a new tab)Tina Karabinski, Verena C. Haun, Annika Nübold, et al.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2021 · DOI 10.1037/ocp0000280Interventions can produce a modest average improvement in detachment from work during off-job time.Limitations: Average effects are modest and do not substitute for changes to unsafe workloads or working conditions.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials (opens in a new tab)Joseph K. Carpenter, Leigh A. Andrews, Sara M. Witcraft, Mark B. Powers, Jasper A. J. Smits, Stefan G. HofmannDepression and Anxiety, 2018 · DOI 10.1002/da.22728CBT is moderately efficacious for anxiety and related disorders compared with placebo controls.Limitations: Evidence supports structured therapy, not the clinical equivalence of a short educational guide.
Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: A Meta-Analytic Review of Clinical Components to Maximize Efficacy (opens in a new tab)H. W. Jung, K. W. Jang, S. Nam, A. Kim, J. Lee, M. E. Ahn, S.-K. Lee, Y. J. Kim, J.-K. Shin, D. RohJournal of Clinical Medicine, 2025 · DOI 10.3390/jcm14051771Digital CBT for panic/agoraphobia showed benefit versus passive controls; interoceptive exposure was an important component.Limitations: Many included studies had therapist and attrition bias; a brief breathing or grounding screen is not equivalent to CBT.
Effects of Self-Compassion Interventions on Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, and Stress: A Meta-Analysis (opens in a new tab)Areum Han, Tae Hui Kim, MDMindfulness, 2023 · DOI 10.1007/s12671-023-02148-xSelf-compassion interventions had small-to-medium immediate effects on depression, anxiety, and stress across included RCTs.Limitations: Overall risk of bias was high and evidence against active controls was limited.

Research catalog reviewed on 2026-08-04. Read our editorial standards and correction policy.