What fiction books have helped you, your wellbeing, or your mental health?

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   tolstoytherapyposted 12 years ago

   What fiction books have helped you, your wellbeing, or your mental health?
   
   I have found literature to be one of the best ways I can maintain my PTSD symptoms. Reading provides me with something to relate to and feel reassured by, but also to find comfort in.
   
   I found out last year this technique had a name - bibliotherapy - and it has become the focus of some of my Hubs and my website (www.therapythroughtolstoy.com).
   
   Are there any books that have helped you through a tough time, or improved your sense of wellbeing?
   
   For me...
   PTSD: "Ulysses" by Tennyson
   Low mood: The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
   Need for solitude: Walden by Henry David Thoreau
   
   
   

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   Beth37posted 12 years ago

   Ok, well, Im totally cheating here cause it was actually a movie... but it was a book first! Safe Haven by Nocholas Sparks. It's just a silly story, kind of... it's sort of a romance, thriller. But we left the movie Burt Wonderstone (worst movie ever) to go see this one instead. My husband and I had been estranged for a few years and for whatever reason, it was during this movie that my heart began to truly soften and we are now reconciled. It was a good story for the most part and parts of it brought a lot of tears from the females in the audience... this one especially.

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      tolstoytherapyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That's a really great answer - thank you for sharing! I know a lot of people who love his books and have been helped a lot by them.
      
      I'm also glad the film brought you back together

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      Beth37posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you.

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   EJ Lambertposted 12 years ago

   For me it was the book Ender's Game.  The reason is that during the time I read it in high school my parents were going through their second divorce.  I was horribly obese, around 350 lbs and suffering from bad depression.  I read that book, about how much stress and pressure Ender went through and saw a little of myself in that.  I also saw how he fortified his resolve through friends and pushed through it all.  That mindset served as a catalyst for me.  My depression is gone and I'm 220 lbs.

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      Beth37posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What a difficult childhood, Im sorry you had to go thru that.

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      tolstoytherapyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your answer, EJ. I also found books so comforting when my parents divorced and my mood was low. A book with a character that you can relate to who perseveres through hardship is so motivating.

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      EJ Lambertposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Beth.  It is very motivating.

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   krillcoposted 12 years ago

   Pure pulp: Stephen King. Not exactly highbrow literature, but I can suspend reality for a while, at that's rather therapeutic.

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