Bibliotherapy: depressed reading

What is Bibliotherapy?

As Book Riot describes it: "The Guardian reported recently that some doctors in England are set to begin prescribing books instead of drugs for their patients with mild-to-moderate mental health concerns, so why not have someone whose job it is to prescribe books for whatever ails you, be it physical or existential? I suppose you might already have access to this kind of service if you are particularly close to a bookseller or librarian (or if you have poor boundaries and tell anyone who will listen about your issues–speaking of, there’s a book for that). How great would it be if you could make an appointment or have a regular date with your bibliotherapist where you could dish about your mood, your travel plans, the annoying thing your husband is doing lately, your recent bout of insomnia, and the song that won’t get out of your head, and they would prescribe the perfect book to make you happy again?"

This is what I propose to do for you, my dear readers. Contact me (see the form in the sidebar) with your stories, problems, your woes and worries. Where it asks for a name, write any tagline you wish that sums up your message. I will post your message and my reply here on this blog within 24 hours. Please include a preferred format: fiction/non-fiction, poetry, essays, short story. You may also make a note of any type of writing that you absolutely cannot stand to read. PLEASE NOTE: If you accidentally put your real name or any identifying info, I will keep it out of the post and change your name to match your message's content. I will keep everything private to protect your identity. I only want to help you, so here's my promise to never use the knowledge you give me for anything other than bibliotherapy.

I have always sought and found solace in books my whole life. I wish to share that peace and joy with you, my darling fellow readers.

With great love and compassion, best is a book twice read,

Your Bibliotherapist

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Dear Bibliotherapist, from Too Tired to be Happy

Dear Bibliotherapist, I've been struggling with depression and I need help. I want so desperately to be happy, but I'm just too TIRED to be happy. I want to do plenty of things, but I just don't have the energy and end up sleeping instead. What do I do? Do you have a book or poem for me that might be able to help?

-Too Tired to be Happy

Oh, my dear reader. My heart goes out to you. I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this exhaustion, which I am no stranger to. One of the worst parts of depression is the exhaustion that traps and binds you closer to your sadness. It keeps you from being able to rise above it all, because you only feel safe in the bliss of sleep. It gets better, love, I promise. Please have faith that it does get better.

I have a poem for you, for sure. This is one of my absolute favorite poems, and I used to have it memorized. It's by the great Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Since I'm not sure if I'm allowed to copy and paste a poem on a blog such as this so I'll just link it here. The title is The Day is Done.

Another book that I have for you, I haven't even finished reading yet but it's done me quite some good for being a self-help book. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero was a huge surprise to me. I've laughed out loud at how absurdly simple she makes happiness seem. I have struggled with depression my entire life, and I've just recently started getting out of a slump of depression-induced exhaustion. I know how you feel, Too Tired to be Happy. The author of this book has the same view as most of us 20-somethings(any age-somethings really) do about self-help books: sneering disbelief in their power, and downright disdain for all the touchy-feely crap. This chick is no-nonsense and her tongue-in-cheek attitude has me actually wanting to try her methods, and hey guess what? They work. Her main goal is to get you to love yourself. Which is what we should all be doing, loving ourselves irrevocably and unapologetically.

Two books that just hit the shelves that you may want to check out(they're next on my to-read list) are Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson and Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (yes the one that we all imagine as Julia Roberts thanks to that movie about eating, praying and loving).

You will overcome this. I promise. Just keep waking up every day, feel the sun on your face, embrace another chance to make things better, and take joy in everything you can. Especially books!

Happy reading!

Best is a book twice read,

Your Bibliotherapist

Monday, April 13, 2015

Introducing: Your Bibliotherapist

Greetings and Salutations!

I suppose I should have written this introduction when I first opened this blog, but that train has left the station. Better late than never, right?

Through Google's glorious inter-connected flow, you can find out who I am through my blogger profile(also woefully un-finished, are we sensing a pattern yet?), so this won't be chock-full of personal facts. I just want to tell you, dear readers, why I want to help you and a bit of who I am. I want you to trust me.

I've struggled with severe depression and anxiety issues my whole life. I've had trouble getting them correctly diagnosed over the years, so I don't even care to attempt labeling it any more. My battle is my own personal battle, and that's that. The two main things I have learned throughout this long war is as follows:

I love books. I love words, I love reading them, I love writing them. They help me find my purpose, they help me dream and remember better days. They are my solace in the dark. They have been for years. Reading inspires me to write, inspires me to fight against my demons with pen and ink.
I am at my best when I am helping people. It's that simple. When I am taking care of others, and helping them find their hope, their joy, their purpose, I feel like I'm finally myself again, and I'm actually making a difference.

That's why I started this blog. What better way of bringing these two loves together then by this blog? Huge thanks to the people at Book Riot for thinking this one up. When I read the "job description"(you can see it up there on the top of my page, keep scrolling up, there it is!) I knew I had to do something like this. Talk to people, start a blog, anything. Since I'm a writer, I figured a blog would probably be the best way to go. Not very many newspapers want a second "Dear Abby"-styled column. But I know there are plenty of other bibliophiles and book-lovers out there who struggle with problems, just as I do. And it doesn't have to be about depression, or anxiety. It can be anything. Going through a divorce? I have a book for that. Changing jobs? I have a book for that. Traveling across the world and you need to refill your Kindle to distract you from your fear of flying? I have a bunch of books for that, none of which feature plane crashes. Please, let me help you. Let me give you a new world inside the covers of a worn paperback or on your Kindle, or however you best read. Within the literary world there are a myriad of places to go to find yourself again, no matter who you are. That's the beauty and wonder of reading.

You might say that you're a picky reader and you want to choose your books yourself. You might say that reading doesn't do anything for your worries and your personal traumas. Fair enough. My word is definitely not gospel. I'm not even a doctor. I'm just a blogger with an English degree trying not to go crazy herself. I'm not even asking you to give me money! Just let me help you. If you don't like the books I suggest, that's fine, you can tell me so and we can try again, or you can go on your merry way. If you think that reading can't possibly help in any way to change your life, I honestly have to ask you if you've ever read a really, truly good book. Just give it a try, okay? You have nothing to lose, I promise.

Maybe it was the way I was raised, where I taught myself to read at the age of four and devoured anything with words that I could get my hands on. I've always adored books, even when I hated the way the stories went. That's probably when I decided I wanted to write. Then I realized how truly magical the world of writing and reading is. I can make up worlds all my own, and my characters can do whatever they need to do to find their place and solve their problems. It's beautiful. Sorry, tangent.

Books are stories from eras past or released today. There are billions upon billions to choose from. I believe that throughout the entire history of humanity and the written word, there will be at least one book written for each star in the sky. And they are all written by people like you and me. People with heartaches, people who have gone through incredibly traumatic experiences and suffer from the same sadness that we do. Let them help you. I'm really just the middleman here. I just want to metaphorically see you smile again, and the best way I can do that is read what you send me, and put a good book in your hand that I truly believe will help heal your heart and soul. I might be just an anonymous face on the internet, another 20-something blogger, but I truly just want to help you. Will you go on a book-reading journey with me?

Best is a Book Twice Read,