“Life is full of ups and downs.”

Our younger version thought that this statement was a cliché until we got a taste of what adulthood is like. As we grew older, responsibilities became more than washing our uniforms and polishing our shoes. Our lives are now in our hands and so is our future.

It is at this point that you realise how easy it is to lose your mind, experience suicidal thoughts or even suffer from irrecoverable addiction if you do not prioritise your mental health.

Peace of mind is a very crucial part of life that many of us ignore. Any big mountain can be moved as long as we can think clearly hence the need for mental stability. This is where books come in. Depending on the genre, books play a part in improving our mental health.

Providing an escape

Have you ever been in a scenario that made you wish that the earth should split into halves and make you disappear?

Some difficult situations require us to be away from the scene so we can calm the emotions that clog our minds. Books provide just that.

Words create images. Artistically crafted words create a whole new world. This imaginary world provides an escape from your troubles and can even give solutions to your problems.

“Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness,” Hellen Keller, an author, summarises this aspect of reading.

Her view is seconded by Binyavanga Wainaina, a Kenyan author: “Reading gives us a place to go when we have to stay where we are, and in that place, we often discover ourselves.”

Reading a book when you are stressed gives you a break from the busy adulthood schedule.

You are not alone

“Why am I the only one going through this? Why can’t I have a flawless life just like everybody else?”

Such questions poison our minds. The innate answers to these questions make us feel like our problems are unique, the biggest and unsolvable.

However, the contrary is true. There is a high chance that other people are going through the same hardship. Some could have already conquered and lived through what you think is the biggest downfall of all time. Just like a math problem, every hardship has a solution.

Books have stories of people who have had similar or worse experiences and survived. Such literature proves that you are not alone and that no problem is too big to put you down.

Motivation

There is this line that many motivational speakers like to use: “wake the lion in you.”

A good motivational book will wake the lion in you and give meaning to your life. The words will brighten up your days and your life will be worth living again.

Maya Angelou says it best: “When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”

In conclusion, if you feel like life is too hard, read a book. If your responsibilities are overwhelming, grab a book and calm your mind.