2023-07-19 14:47:48
July 19, 2023
Read a good novel. Here is an activity that many of us like, especially in summer. But did you know that this relaxing activity is also a real source of well-being, with numerous and significant benefits on mental health. Including when it is already bad. Explanations.
The first benefit of reading is to reduce stress. Taking the time to read a book allows you to immerse yourself in a story, to think of nothing else and to relax. A study from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom published in 2009 even showed that reading might reduce stress by up to 68% compared to its initial level. And one of the reasons is precisely the possibility of escaping from one’s own life, from all its problems, for the duration of the reading. “Reading a novel requires in particular to create personal images, which allows the reader to become more involved in the story compared to a film and therefore offers the possibility of immersing themselves even more out of time”, specify the National Alliance on Mental Illness American. And when the story is good and you immerse yourself in it completely, the mental health benefits can linger for months.
Bibliotherapy, a supervised reading
According to a 2016 study published in the Clinical Psychology Review, the soothing effect is so strong that reading might also be therapeutic. Comparing it to standard treatments, Italian researchers have found a significant drop in depressive symptoms in patients. Bibliotherapy, as it is called, would also reduce the use of antidepressant drugs over the long term. Especially when the reading is guided and supervised by professionals.
This was shown by another work published in PLOS ONE in 2013. It brought together more than 200 patients diagnosed with depression, half of whom were on antidepressants and the other half had followed a therapy program through the reading of the book Overcoming depression*. Psychologists had organized discussion groups around the book. At the end of four months, 42.6% of patient-readers had seen their degree of depression drop compared to 24.5% of patients on drug treatment.
Empathy and Representation
Apart from the therapeutic use of reading, reading offers other advantages. This activity helps to develop empathy. Researchers from The New School in New York have discovered that fictional texts improve the reader’s ability to understand the way of thinking and the feelings of others. A skill that helps regulate emotions and feel better. Reading also helps, especially young people, to improve their social relationships, by enriching their vocabulary and their conversation and by facilitating connection with their peers. Especially when reading is encouraged and framed in dedicated education programs.
Fictional stories finally make it possible to feel less alone in the face of a situation, a difficulty. This is particularly true for adolescents and young people, who are unaware that they are not the only ones who are different, for example. Reading the story of a transgender boy or a bullied teenage girl can help many readers feel better regarding being able to talk regarding their issues.
*Overcome depression
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