Reading Benefit 02: Stress Relief

Last time I wrote, I discussed how reading can support with developing empathy through intentionally engaging with new and challenging perspectives. Learning and checking our bias is a healthy thing to do.

However, for the busy grown-up especially, switching off and running away with the fairies is also a healthy thing to do.

Self-care is often neglected by us adults due to the unrealistic aesthetics of Instagram posts, the guilt that comes when feeling like you're not being productive enough, the stigma around mental health, or the debilitating overwhelm from a never-ending to-do list.

When we are stressed, our body produces 'cortisol' to help manage the increased workload we have put onto our body and mind. Its job is to regulate the sugar in our blood, and control blood circulation. If we engage in stressful activity and situations for too long, the cortisol levels will increase accordingly, but instead of being helpful it begins to wreak havoc. Many of us can expect an elevated heart rate and high blood pressure, which leads to long-term heart conditions as well as metabolic issues which causes weight gain ... all whilst forgetting what sleep is supposed to be good for. The more switched on and stressed we are, the more we take from our bodies. We need controlled levels of stress to grow and develop, but all that only matters if we can balance it with a good dose of self-care.

Self-care can look however you want it to look, and it should be personal to you. It can take the form of exercise, socialising, enjoying food, or engaging with a hobby that serves no purpose other than to make you happy. All you need is 30 minutes every other day that is just for you.

Imagine this.

You have logged off from work for the day. It is pitch black outside despite only being 5pm, and a storm is launching rain at your window. This can go one of two ways.

1) It feels bleak and hostile, and your initial instinct is to escape into some doom scrolling from the comfort of the office chair you have yet to peel yourself out of. This will lead to physical stiffness, a headache, and even fatigue because you have forgotten to eat due to an hour lost to the unhelpful nature of excessive content consumption. You then berate yourself, and start to feel useless. You order in another takeaway despite having some leftovers in the fridge and resume scrolling. Feeling heavy and isolated, you eventually make it to bed where you cannot sleep due to the popular songs and images replaying in your mind, and your stiff body unable to get comfortable. Hours later, you'll wake up unrefreshed and unmotivated.

Or ...

2) It is bleak and hostile out there, challenge accepted. You get out of your office space and into the kitchen. Whilst your soup maker does its thing, you get onto your walking pad and call your best friend to find out how their date went last night. Suddenly the bleakness subsides and the cosiness of your home radiates with warmth ... the soup smell helps. No longer stiff from sitting in that office chair all day and with a happy tummy it is time to rest up. Storms call for a warm bubble bath lit by a candle. As you sink into the warm embrace of the lavender scented bubbles, your audiobook gossips over the gentle patter of rain on the window. You escape your meetings and deadlines into 18th century England to partake in the latest dramas of a rebellious heiress. "She is too good for him anyway", you think to yourself. To bed you go, where you sleep deeply. You awake refreshed, and ready to take on a new day.

Option two is the vibe we want to be aiming for, and although a little idealistic, it can be customised to suit your individual circumstances. This option promotes healthy behaviours and decision making that nurtures mind and body. Option one will happen from time to time, because sometimes the stress does just get to us, which is ok as long as you remember to counter it the next day with some kindness to yourself.

When I teach wellbeing, I emphasise that we have choice and that every choice has an outcome. You have to first decide which version you want more of in your day-to-day and then make choices that create space for it.

Reading is a very accessible and versatile hobby that contributes to self-care routines in a busy lifestyle. These narratives come in many forms, and often don't have expiry dates (please retunr library books on time). In some formats, they can travel with you wherever you go. The variety available means there is something for everyone and every mood - from romance to science, from Middle Earth to Mars. They are there for you as and when you need them. No strings attached. And when you do pick them up, you allow both mind and body to recharge as you do something you enjoy for you.

Reading for enjoyment recommendations:

• The Secret History by Donna Tartt

• Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors