Let’s Talk Bookish – How Reading Affects Mental Health

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well! As it is once again Friday, it is time for another Let’s Talk Bookish edition. Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This weeks topic is all about how reading affects mental health!

Mental health is a very close topic to my heart, and like many other people, I do suffer from mental health issues. I always think that it is important that we highlight mental health, especially in books.

In what ways does reading affect your mental health?

Reading positively helps my mental health as I find it a great escapism. I find that I can always get lost in a book, focusing on something other than my anxiety which always helps me. Occasionally it will negatively affect me if I find that everything is getting on top of me and I can’t spend the time to sit and enjoy what I am reading.

How do you find a balance to keep up with reading while being mindful of your mental health?

I try and find a balance by not forcing myself to read. I always want to read naturally, so if I don’t pick up a book for a couple of days, it’s not that big of an issue. If I start to make it a problem, that is when it can start to affect my mental health. I also try to avoid topics if I feel that my mental health is bad which definitely does help. For example, I am more likely to pick up a romance or a contemporary in this situation.

Do triggers, bookish controversies, and things like that affect your health a lot more than you let on?

Occasionally things in the bookish communities will trigger me, but this is quite rare. Also, quite a few of my triggers, such as medical misdiagnosis, are things that I am yet to see represented in books, which helps me avoid them. If they do affect me it will probably be to a greater degree than what I let on, especially on my blog, as I try and keep this as a happy and upbeat place.

I loved talking about this topic as it is something that needs to be spoken about more often. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!