Feeling Stressed? One Way to Decrease Your Stress Levels is to Read

I think that in life we all have a certain level of stress.  Divorce ranks up there with one of the highest stressors, it is second on the Holmes Rahe Stress Scale just behind the death of a spouse.  

The goal is to lessen our stress levels or escape from stress at least for a moment and one way to do this is through reading.

Here is a quote in regard to reading and stress relief that I found online.....

"Reading worked best, outshining other stress-reduction techniques like listening to music, taking a walk or having a cup of tea. Stress levels declined by 68 percent after participants read for just six minutes, leading Lewis to say, "Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation."  When you read, your mind is distracted from everyday worries and anxiety, while your muscles tend to relax. In addition, research shows reading leads to improvements in brain function, including significant increases in connectivity that persist for several days after the reading takes place." Dr. Mercola

Reading is one of the simple ways to help us decrease our levels of stress. For me, reading is a distraction.  It takes me to a new place and a different time. Reading distracts me from the things that cause anxiety in my life.  Because of this diversion, I can relax and step away from the fear and uncertainty of my life if only for a  moment.  I think reading is good for our mental health.

Before my husband left me, I loved to read.  I would have two or three books on my nightstand that I would be in the process of reading.  I was in book clubs and loved to spend my evenings with my nose in a good book. It is interesting that at the beginning of my despair of an unwanted separation and divorce I could not read.  The emotional pain and unsettling of my situation were all-encompassing, and I could not escape that pull of dread.  Over the years, I have redeveloped my love of reading.  Initially, I had to force myself to read, and many times I would find myself just staring at the pages with no recollection of what I had read.  Now I love to go to bed at night with a good book.  I look forward to entering the exciting world of the written word. 

 
If you have stress in your life as most of us do in some form or another, I suggest you give reading a try.  Carry a book with you and at that moment that you feel overwhelmed and you need just a short break read a chapter or two.  Sometimes it is nice to take a break from our reality if only for a moment, and when we resurface from our diversion, we can face life with a less stressful mind. 

Happy Reading,

KathieyV