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How Reading Can Help You To Manage Your Stress

How Reading Can Help You To Manage Your Stress

It is National Read a Book Day this week and although it is always good to have a national day to highlight and celebrate the value of certain things, reading really is something we should all be doing every day.

Reading has been used as a therapeutic tool since ancient times. Just the act of opening the cover, finding your place or starting that first sentence can provide an escape from the stressors of your daily life, and be a form of mindfulness, a way of centring yourself and focusing on something other than your anxiety. Research from the Cognitive Neuropsychology Department of Sussex University, has shown that reading can reduce your stress levels by as much as 68 per cent. They found that even as little as six minutes of reading can not only reduce the symptoms of stress, but will also lower your heart rate and ease the tension in your muscles.

The study also showed that reading is more quickly effective in reducing stress than other common stress-busting methods such as listening to music or going for a walk.  This is because reading requires a high degree of concentration, which shuts out the ‘noise’ of stress, anxiety and repetitive thoughts. What’s more what you are reading can take you into other worlds and provide a pure form of escape, which allows you to reset your mind from stress mode.

It actually doesn’t matter whether you are reading a novel or a biography, a guidebook, a practical manual, or even a short article in a newspaper or magazine as long as what you are reading is engrossing and you are interested enough to lose yourself in it.  Although you are physically relaxed while reading, it is not a passive activity. You have to actively engage your imagination and empathy in order to make sense of the words on the page and enter the worlds conjured by them. This is in turn creates a space in your mind to think and relax in.

How to maximise the benefits of reading

  • Set aside 10-30 minutes to read every day in a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.
  • Never feel intimidated by the reading lists of others. This is a relaxation exercise not an intellectual challenge. Your chosen book doesn’t have to be literature or even on the bestseller list.
  • Start with a subject you enjoy – such as a recipe book or the biography of a sports personality you have always admired – and allow your reading list to be guided by your interests and fan out from a central point of enjoyment.
  • The modern world is so busy and hyper-connected, but while you are reading it is just you connecting to the imagination of the writer and from there into your own inner world and imagination. Reflect on how you feel as you read — what sensations do you feel in your body? Do any ideas about your own life come to you?
  • Take a minute or two to tune back in after you have finished your daily read. What did you enjoy in the passage you read? Who or what do you identify with? Has this given you any insight into others, or yourself? And did you manage to let go of some of your stress in the process?

If you continue to feel overwhelmed by stress and anxiety it could help to talk to a trained therapist or counsellor. Call 020 8673 4545 or email [email protected] and our Front of House team will be able to help you find the right therapist for you.

Bridget Freer
Bridget Freer first trained as a print journalist and worked for many years as a freelance features writer for publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Observer, The Telegraph, Hello, People, Rolling Stone, Marie Claire and Psychologies. She is also the author of several books on careers and travel. Bridget is a qualified psychotherapist with an MsC in psychodynamic psychotherapy from Birkbeck, University of London.
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Baby Loss Awareness Week exists to help grow awareness and support for people who’ve lost a baby, as well as allowing grieving parents across the globe to commemorate their babies whose lives were heartbreakingly short. Many people who’ve lost a baby say they never truly get over it. Ever. A part of them will remain forever empty. Even future babies, if they come along, will never fill that gap. The loss of a baby can be devastating, whatever stage of pregnancy the couple are at – whether it’s a miscarriage (before 24 weeks), a stillbirth (after 24 weeks) or losing the baby during or after birth. Losing a baby at any stage is shocking and traumatic for the parents. A multitude of painful feelings can crowd in. Life may feel thin, sad, empty, pointless. If you know someone who’s lost a baby, it can be difficult to know what to do for the best. Nothing can take away their pain, though it might help you to understand the kind of things your friend or loved one is going through. What it’s like to live with baby loss • The parents have lost a person they thought they would spend the rest of their lives with. Not only have they lost a baby, they’ve lost the hopes and dreams of a cherished future. • It’s a bereavement that can feel just as raw as if the baby had grown up and lived a longer life. • There often isn’t much after-care in hospital, following the loss of a baby, and so the parents may be feeling abandoned and all at sea. • Some of the clinical terms used when a mother miscarries can be quite upsetting. These terms can feel depersonalising and hurtful, even though it’s just medical professionals doing their job. • Losing a baby can leave a mother feeling like a failure, as if she’s done something wrong. These feelings of guilt and self-doubt can sometimes develop into depression. • Grieving parents can feel very, very alone in their loss. No one truly understands the pain they’re going through. • They don’t want to take care of your reaction when they tell you what’s happened. Sometimes people can get so upset about the news that the bereaved parents end up taking care of the feelings of others. It’s not meant to work that way. • It can become unbearable to see other people pregnant or with babies – especially people close to them. What’s worse is people not telling them they’re pregnant, for fear of upsetting them. • The loss can sometimes affect the parents’ relationship as the partners struggle to come to terms with the loss individually and together. • Months and sometimes years down the line, they may still be mourning the baby they lost. How you can support someone through baby loss Acknowledge their loss. This is one of the toughest things for grieving parents: when people around them don’t know what to say, and so act as though nothing has happened. They want their loss to be acknowledged. Don’t let your awkwardness get in the way of that. Avoid clichés. Don’t just trot out the typical things people might say that they think will make the bereaved parents feel better – like, “oh, your baby is too good for earth and has gone to heaven,” or “well, you’ll be able to have another one soon”. That kind of phrase really doesn’t help. They want a human being in front of them who cares and who really doesn’t need to say anything – just be there. Let them talk. Losing a baby can be a lonely time. Your loved one may feel as though no one understands. Even if you don’t truly understand (and you won’t unless you’ve been through it yourself) be there with a sympathetic and caring ear. Keep your own emotions in check. They’re the ones suffering, not you. Don’t break down and make them the ones to look after you. They need your support. You can show your sadness. Of course. But you may need to be the strong one while they’re feeling vulnerable. Be sensitive to when they might need an ally. It can be hard to be around other people with babies and bumps when you’ve lost a baby. Tears can threaten at any point. Keep an eye out for when your loved one might need you to cover for them in a social gathering. Help create a socially acceptable excuse when they need a moment by themselves. Urge them to stay off social media. Facebook, Instagram etc – by their nature – showcase shiny happy people doing shiny happy things. Life events such as pregnancy and babies are often catalogued in minute detail. Especially in the early stages, it may feel healthier and safer for your friend or loved one who’s lost a baby to give social media a miss. Until they feel strong enough to engage again without breaking down. Keep an eye on their mental health. Painful emotions do pass, generally. Sometimes they don’t, especially if there are some underlying issues from earlier in life. A new loss can tap into earlier losses, with compound effect. If your friend of loved one is showing signs of tipping into depression then you may want to suggest they see a therapist who can support them through the darkness – until they’re ready to walk into the light again. For confidential support from one of our therapists, you can book an appointment by emailing appointments@theawarenesscentre.com or calling 020 8673 4545.

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