Is reading good for mental health?

Lounge
1

I got honest with myself: I don’t like to read. Even when it was enjoyable it carried with it a painful aspect. It is good to have concentration but that can be sharpened only so much. I can’t understand words on paper anymore, probably because I let it go. The time to be a reader for me is long past, in my childhood I read a few books and had the literary bug but I was preoccupied by my imagination and missed my shot.

But should I read a little? Is it necessary for my mental health?

Why does it feel like when I discover something about myself in books a little piece of me dies?

I’m still interested in audiobooks but I’m so crazy now I find it hard too, maybe too hard.

1 Like
2

I struggle with reading. Its because of depression.

I get really emotional during the hardships. Its one reason I try to pick happier genres.

Comedy genres action genres.

If it feels less like a person suffering and more like a character putting on a performance I like it more.

Generally this is only when my depression is getting a little out of hand.

I’m sort of loose on it right now, its not really super well managed but I’m not unsafe or crying ALL the time.

2 Likes
3

It depends on what you read. Horror is bad and sex may bother you if that’s what the voices talk about. A good cartoon book like Baby Blues, or Pearls Before Swine may be suggestible for what you need. (I would suggest Calvin and Hobbes but the guy retired too early.)

2 Likes
4

I’ll take your suggestion. I own a Calvin and Hobbes book and my voice wouldn’t let me read it because he said it was childish. I got it over twenty years ago for my birthday. Thanks for the suggestion.

5

I have a hard time focusing on reading.

When I was a kid I used to read a lot. It feels like I’m missing out. There is so much I want to read.

I have a hard time thinking creatively too. It’s like I’m just going through heaps of information when I’m reading, information that doesn’t make any sense. So the enjoyment of reading is lacking.

Hopefully it will come back! I love obtaining new knowledge!

6

I have a suggestion for you Speedy! Read the dictionary or a thesaurus!

7

My mom suggested that I read one page of Shakespeare a day.

8

I read all the time. While I have books on a variety of topics, if I’m worried about my moodiness (thanks, sza/bp!), I stick to short books (around 100 pgs) in the romance genre. It’s too short for any real drama, so it works out nicely. Happy ending, so I tend to be happy at the end, too.

1 Like
9

I rarely if ever did what voices told me to…

1 Like
10

There are other activities even better for the brain, music, chess, etc.

1 Like
11

It was a struggle to do what the voices told me to.

12

then why bother at all?

13

Because most of the time if I don’t I regret it. They have more sense than I.

14

I think it depends on how you feel about what you’re reading. Emotions are linked to thoughts. If you read horrible ideas or negative subjects it might be bad for mental health. Like if I had to read 1000 pages about something boring like a manual of technical data I think it might make me insane. I try to read things I have a natural interest in or at least am curious about.

15

I found a book tonight I could read but I’m still only reading a few pages a day. If you can’t read keep looking you just need the right book.

16

This topic was automatically closed 14 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.