Can writing and reading help you fight depression?
Dealing with depression is not easy, it becomes quite a fight and the more help we get the better. Getting professional help is very important, but it is also crucial that we keep fighting on our own, and for this books can be of great help.
Of course, it is important to remember that you should seek help if you believe you may be about to harm yourself or anyone else.
Write for your own good
You may think you are not good at words or that nobody would be ever willing to read what you write. Take those negative thoughts, put them aside and just write. Don’t do it for anyone else, just for fun, to free all those thoughts that are inside your mind.
The key here is not to put pressure on yourself. Just keep in mind that you are just writing stuff, you are putting your thoughts on paper. That’s all. You’ll realise, quite soon actually, that this is a liberating experience that can benefit your mental health.
Writing, if well approached, can help you deal with depression.
In fact, this was my way to cope with this mental illness, I started writing a fantasy story about a boy who decided to never give up in his life again. It was just for fun, I just wanted this boy to keep fighting adversities no matter what, and to help others on his journey. This story worked to me as a reminder, to tell myself that I should never give up as well.
And I can tell you it did the trick, whenever I feel I can’t keep doing something anymore I remember myself of this story, and then I tell myself, you gave up once and you should never ever give up again. In case you are interested, this story ended up being a fantasy series, known as The Sword’s Choice, and in this you’ll meet a lot of characters dealing with different mental illnesses, suicidal tendencies, bullying, all kinds of prejudice and so on.
Reading helps you as well
If you don’t find joy in writing, then reading may be a great solution for you. In this case, you may want to read stuff that makes you happier and helps you with your struggle. This doesn’t mean that you have to read self-help books, you don’t even have to focus on mental health books, instead, you can also read stuff that helps you to improve your mood.
There are lots of humorous books out there, the first one that came to my head was Azazel by Isaac Asimov – yes, this notorious sci-fi author has also written some hilarious books. In a similar way, young adult fantasy stories may be of great help. In these books, young characters fight against the world, overcoming impossible adversities, and finally fulfilling their dreams, these books are full of powerful messages for which you can also benefit.
Keep fighting no matter what
I just wanted to finish this post with a reminder: your life is important, and so are you. Which means that you should care about yourself, and you should never stop fighting. Just remember that.
