The Power of Positive Thinking believe and live successfully.” Peale's work came under criticism from various mental health experts, theologians, and academics. One general criticism against Peale's book was the lack of verified sources. "The Power of Positive Thinking" includes many personal anecdotes that the reader has no way of validating. The book includes stories about “a business executive”, “a man, an alcoholic”, “a famous trapeze artist”, “a friend of [Peale’s], a midwestern businessman”, and other unnamed individuals which cannot be verified from the information Peale presents with each anecdote. R. C. Murphy, a prominent psychiatrist based out of Tacoma, Washington, addresses another criticism of
Positive psychology calibrated." Seligman has acknowledged in his work the point about positive illusion, and is also a critic of merely feeling good about oneself apart from reality and recognises the importance of negativity / dysphoria. Ian Sample, writing for "The Guardian", noted that, "Positive psychologists also stand accused of burying their heads in the sand and ignoring that depressed, even merely unhappy people, have real problems that need dealing with." Sample also quoted Steven Wolin, a clinical psychiatrist at George Washington University, as saying that the study of positive psychology is just a reiteration of older ways of thinking, and that