Mind4Youth

Author: Victoria Blonde

In today’s ever-changing world, with social media constantly vying for our attention, it can be easy to lose yourself to endless scrolling, or to get caught up in negative news and personal struggles in life. Anything from academic stress to issues within your family can take a toll on mental health, especially when all you can focus on are the negatives. But there’s a surprising remedy that may work for you: reading. Yes, the simple act of diving into a good book can be used as a therapeutic tool (termed as bibliotherapy) to improve mental health and provide a healthy escape from day to day life when needed. Keep reading to see how bibliotherapy transformed my life, and how it can do the same for you.

Benefits I saw:

Before I dug deep into the research on bibliotherapy, I wanted to identify the benefits I saw in my own life without the influence of the specific data. Not only did reading provide the escape from my mind and my surroundings that I was looking for during a hard time in my life, but it also left me with a sense of accomplishment that I wasn’t used to feeling. As I got older and continued to read through my adolescence, I was also able to make friends both in person and online who shared my enjoyment of reading, which gave me a community to lean on when struggling. These were the obvious positives that I saw in myself from reading, but let me tell you a bit more about why these positive changes can happen due to the influence of bibliotherapy.

The Reality of Reading: Facts about Reading and Mental Health

The idea of bibliotherapy, or the use of books and literature for the treatment of mental conditions, can be traced back to Ancient Greece where the works of Aristotle were considered, “medicine for the soul” (Shah, 2017). But with changing technologies the inherent benefits of reading, both social and academic, have been somewhat forgotten. However, recent studies on the direct interaction of the act of reading and mental health have resurfaced the virtues of reading to modern humans. 

The Details:

Bibliotherapy comes in three different modes: creative bibliotherapy, clinical bibliotherapy, and developmental bibliotherapy (Sevinç, 2019). Creative bibliotherapy is the focus of many studies, where a group of participants partake in a shared reading experience. The facilitator of the group, typically a librarian, begins each session by reading from the novel chosen by the group of participants. As the librarian narrates they take spontaneous pauses to foster group discussion. However this is different from a book club. Instead of focusing on what happens in the story, bibliotherapy digs deeper into the contents of the selected literature through discussion facilitated by the librarian. Each session ends with the reading of a poem and a dissection of its intricacies. One of creative bibliotherapy’s greatest strengths is its inclusiveness, as “even people who cannot read – whether through literacy difficulties or neurological disorders, or impaired vision – can participate meaningfully,” (Billington et al., 2013). After this method was used in a variety of studies all relating to bibliotherapy and its effectiveness in treating mental health, there was strong evidence of its positive impact. The following are key factors of bibliotherapy’s effectiveness in mental wellbeing.

Key findings for Bibliotherapy: 

• Bibliotherapy addresses the person as a whole, not just the ‘sick’ part (Billington et al., 2013).
• Books, especially fiction books, are able to transport the reader from their current setting to a totally different atmosphere and moment (Sevinç, 2019).
• Readers can find companionship in characters that have similar emotions or experiences as themselves (Sevinç, 2019).
• Recognizing issues that fictional characters have also gives readers the opportunity to see problems or stressors similar to those in their own life from an outside perspective, possibly for the first time. This can also help combat feelings of loneliness while giving a new perspective to the reader (Sevinç, 2019).
• Literature offers a way for people to think of, find, and alleviate personal trouble with a language other than their own, one they might not have discovered without the intervention of literature (Billington et al., 2013).
• Literature can also help people articulate and understand their own human experience, especially when suffering an illness like depression (Billington et al, 2013).

For developmental bibliotherapy in particular, research found that there is a positive correlation between reading and writing variables (like how much people enjoy reading and writing, how often, and how they view their reading and writing skills) and mental wellbeing in children and young adults (Clark & Teravainen-Goff, 2018). 

It’s nice to see all of these findings listed out, but it can be hard to really trust in them without personal experience. To shed more insight, let me tell you a bit more about my experience with reading and my own mental health.

Making sense of the Facts: 

My Story:

When I was twelve I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression, after a friend had told a parent about seeing scratch marks on my wrists. This diagnosis turned my world upside down, I was dealing with both illnesses and a lot of internal shame for needing help and not reaching out initially. On top of that I was nearly positive that all of my classmates knew what had happened, because of our small class size of 26, and because of a book with a note from my seventh grade teacher that was left in front of my locker. At first, I was annoyed that she did this. To me it felt like a signal to all the other students that I was fragile, and in need of special treatment when all I wanted was to forget about everything and act like a normal seventh grader. But looking back, I am glad she left me that book, one that she wrote in her note would help get me through this tough time, as it was one of the first novels I read for my own pleasure outside of the classroom. And I kept reading, after that first book. 

Me and the Data: 

Comparing my own experience of a more individual form of bibliotherapy, a lot of the findings in multiple studies lined up with what I saw in my own life. I was able to press pause on the stressors in my life by losing myself in a book. I was able to feel accomplished for something separate from my academics, one of the most anxiety inducing factors in my life at the time. I connected with the characters I read about, and I found strength in their stories and the things they were able to overcome. Reading also gave me a wider perspective on life, one that I would not have been exposed to regularly. I connected with new friends at my school that I might not have if I hadn’t seen them carrying my most recent book in the hallways, and I felt like part of a community online sharing books that I loved with others. 

These benefits along with other forms of taking care of my mental health powered me along the road to a better place. I still struggle with my mental health at times, but I know I will always have ways to cope with hard times in my life through what I have learned with reading and other forms of mental wellbeing practices. These changes I saw in myself and my mental wellbeing have truly impacted the person I am today, and I want to share these positives with others. So now let me share how I think you should pick out your next read. 

Where to Start: 

Most people have their own version of “the book” that acts as a catalyst to their growth as a reader. Maybe you have already read yours or maybe you’re still searching for that perfect read. It can be a hard book to find at times, and typically you won’t know which book will stand out for you in this way until you have finished reading it. Don’t feel discouraged if the first book, or first few books, just aren’t really for you. Something I learned is that it is ok to put a book down and say “this one is not for me,” and not feel guilty about not finishing it. Remember, the reading experience is completely customizable, and you should focus on things that pique your interests first, otherwise you could end up feeling like you are studying for a class again. 

Helpful tips to find a book that you will enjoy:

• Think about what type of movies you like, and see if that genre is something you would enjoy reading
• Pick something different than your experience in life
  • from dragons to time travelers there is so much out there to explore
• Use online resources like goodreads, social media, and your local libraries website for book recommendations
• Don’t be afraid to try something out of your comfort zone
• Don’t be afraid to start small
  • Whether its a short story or just reading one chapter a day, no matter the amount you can still benefit from reading
• Try an audiobook
  • If you have trouble focusing on one thing (like me) you may find it easier to listen to an audiobook while on a walk, driving to work or school, or while doing an easy task like cleaning, showering, a craft and more. 

I personally found fantasy to be my favorite genre of books to lose myself in. As they are vastly different from the life I experience, they made me forget about my troubles and just relax for the time I spent reading. Even though I couldn’t relate to welding any magical powers or fighting in song worthy battle, I still found myself understanding the emotions of the characters and saw how their emotions could be similar to the ones I experienced. The book that was a catalyst for reading for me was The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. If you are like me, a fan of fantasy and Sci-Fi, this might be a fun read for you to check out.

The Reachability of your Readability: Expanding Access 

One of the greatest things about reading and literature is how widely accessible it is to all people. 

Here are some tips to expand your access to reading: 

• Get a library card through your local library
  • Local libraries have great resources for ebooks, audiobooks, physical books and much more that can typically be reserved through their website, making the ease of access right at your fingertips
• Look to your school
  • Most school’s libraries have more than just textbooks and encyclopedias, I bet your school’s librarian has some good recommendations from the shelves they take care of!
• Kindle Books
  • Often, there are reduced prices of books you may want to read through online facilitators such as kindle books, google books, and apple books. This can be a good way to save money if you can’t find the book elsewhere. 

From my own experiences to numerous studies, the benefits of reading are clear. And with how accessible reading can be it is worthwhile for anyone to try, not only for pure enjoyment but also as an unexpected tool to improve mental health. I hope that the information shared here will encourage people who haven’t considered reading for the mental health benefits to give it a try. And if I can leave you with anything let it be this quote, that perfectly sums up the beauty of literature and the act of reading: 

Life which  feels  so  empty  sometimes,  daily  life  events  which  cause  a  great  deal  of  anxiety, periods of grief which feels impossible to get through softens with the words uttered by the main character in a book; different points of view open the door to new meanings in life. (Sevinç, 2019).

Citations 

Billington, J., Davis, P., & Farrington, G. (2013). Reading as participatory art: An alternative mental health therapy. Journal of Arts & Communities, 5(1), 25–40. https://doi-org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/10.1386/jaac.5.1.25_1

Clark, C., & Teravainen-Goff, A. (2018, September). Mental wellbeing, reading and writing: How children and young people’s mental wellbeing is related to their reading and writing experiences. National Literacy trust research report. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED593894.pdf 

Sevinç, G. (2019). Healing mental health through reading: Bibliotherapy. CORE Reader . https://core.ac.uk/reader/441831488 

Shah, B. (2017, September 28). A short history of bibliotherapy. Book Therapy. https://www.booktherapy.io/en-us/blogs/news/a-short-history-of-book-therapy#:~:text=The%20first%20origins%20of%20book,considered%20medicine%20for%20the%20soul.