The power of books #WorldBookDay

So, it’s World Book Day. A day for children to dress up as their favourite characters and celebrate the books they’ve enjoyed. But I think it’s so much more than that, for us as adults too. Books have a magic all of their own, however old you are.  Its that moment when you can sink into a chair, or curl up under the duvet, relieved to lose yourself in the words, even just for a few minutes. For me, reading a book is one of life’s simplest joys, but could it also be a way of coping at difficult times? Never underestimate the power that words can have over someone. Something so relatively simple but that can have a very big effect. Whether it be a book- fiction or non-fiction, or an article, blog post or just a simple tweet. Other people’s words can speak to us in a way that we never expected.  I feel lucky in that I learnt to read at a young age. I have been able to devour books of many authors, discovering new worlds and losing myself in the places created in those words written by talented others. Now I know that the same cannot be said for everyone. There are people who cannot read for whatever reason, or those who just don’t like to. But even the few words they see around them can have an impact, if you read or not.

I strongly believe that reading has a positive impact on my mental health. When you start to read a good book, you become captivated by the story and you become absorbed, and real life is forgotten for that moment.  You are relaxed, calm and the words in front of you offer wisdom, humour, or both. Research has shown that reading not only helps to reduce stress levels, but that the escapism experienced when lost in a book, is more than just reading for entertainment. It shows that people find the process transformative, changing the way people interact with the world and others. My default for when I’m feeling low is to pick up a book, shut everything else out. But reading and then talking to others can be beneficial to mental health and wellbeing, providing the opportunity to discuss meaningful issues related to themselves as well as better emotional understanding and increased self-awareness. Certain books can also help you to realise that you are not along in what you’re going through, which can be a focus in the healing process.

The NHS is now beginning to recognise the benefits if literary prescriptions, offering books that help people to understand and manage their mental health which are non-fiction and self-help books, but also recommending a range of fiction titles that will help to boost the mood. There is a wealth of evidence to support the idea that books can cure, console and enhance wellbeing. Bibliotherapy, as it is known, is quite simply about books as therapy, to complement the medical side of mental health. Whatever you are going through, you can find comfort, solace and help in the pages of a book.

And I continue to be inspired by others words, whether they be real life stories or fictional ones, they can all be just as powerful. And they make me determined to do more, both in my life and my own writing and reading. Books are invaluable.

‘Literature has saved my life and my reason’- Lord Thomas Macaulay

‘Books are uniquely portable magic’ Stephen King