The stresses and woes of the mind and soul are the most difficult to deal with – more than the superficial wounds of our bodies. Medicine and therapy may get us springing back on our two feet, facing the world with renewed vigor and strength, but if the scars run deeper than our very skins, then the story is likely to be a very different one.
Some of the emotional problems people face range from those as mundane as relationship problems to the life-threatening cases of depression and suicidal ideation. Conventional methods will “safekeep” individuals of such problems in support groups, giving them a dose of medication and a multitude of therapies.
A new experimental method is now making headway, suggesting that books are helpful, not just in schools and homes, but in the medical world as well. Who knew that the simple (and fun) act of reading books is not just good for enhancing one’s wisdom and understanding of the world? That reading is not just for passing the time in afternoons or when traveling? The advantages of reading reach down to the depths of the soul – and if you prefer, to the spirit.
Reading helps people; depressed or not, books take their minds off the things that aggravate their stresses and anxieties. Despite being in its experimental phase, whether reading would become a major part of cognitive-behavioral therapies or not, books are proving their worth to mankind all over again. Being able to lose yourself in a story, to an entirely different world, with just a few flips of a book’s pages is, indeed, marvelous in so many levels.