Comfort Food for the Stressed Part 2: How to Choose the Proper Stress-Reading Book

In my last post, I propounded the benefits of stress-reading, specifically in contrast to stress-eating.

After reading my last post, I assume you thought, “Wow, you are so right! And smart! Instead of eating, I’m going to read something the next time I’m stressed!”

Well, at least I can hope you thought something along those lines. And after having reached this conclusion, I imagine you might have run into a small problem: how do I choose what to read when I’m stressed?

Or maybe you figured you could pick out the perfect stress-reading book on your own.

If you thought the latter, you were wrong (maybe. Maybe not. Actually, probably not. Discontinue reading this post if you are confident in your book-choosing abilities).

If, on the other hand, you thought the former, I might be able to provide some assistance here.

Voila!

 

The Rules of Picking a Stress-Reading Book:

 

1.      Approach your bookshelf.

2.      Consider the titles of the books on your bookshelf.

3.      Eliminate from consideration the books that you have never read before.

4.      From the remaining books, pool together books that you enjoyed reading in the past.

5.      From this smaller group of enjoyed books, pick a single title; ideally, this will be one that you have not read in a long time. This will be your stress-reading book.

Considering the Rules

I would not be surprised if you still had questions or even objections regarding this process. I hope to address some of them.

Firstly, why must one approach the bookshelf? Why can’t the bookshelf approach oneself?

Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question without going into a deep philosophical discussion of the nature and actions of animate and inanimate objects. Even then, considering the nature of philosophy and my lack of expertise in that realm, I would not likely reach a satisfactory explanation.

Suffice it to say: unless you have a magical moving bookshelf in your possession, the books will not be coming to you.

Alright. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can consider the more relevant concerns raised by these rules.

Why can’t I read a book I’ve never read before?

I’m not saying you can’t – but I recommend that you do not. I speak from experience.

First, every time I have picked up an unfamiliar book with the intention of stress-reading on some weekend (I’m looking at you, Jane Eyre and Sherlock Holmes), I find that the book is too interesting to put down. The school week starts again, and I find I’m putting off working on homework so that I can find out what happens next.

If you do not have upcoming responsibilities, take a chance on a new book. I hope it is enjoyable. It’s easier to put down a book that you won’t be dying in suspense over.

Second, picking a book you’ve read before means you know whether or not you enjoyed reading it the first time (see rule #4). I have found that it is harder to be excited about reading a book if it is not interesting or fun to read. You won’t want to invest the effort, and will therefore experience fewer of the benefits of stress-reading. Also, reading works you find depressing is not likely to improve your mood. By choosing an already-proven book, you’re removing the bad apples of literature.

Why is it ideal if I haven’t read the book in a long time?

This also falls under the issue of the book being interesting to you. It could be difficult to really get into a book that you just read. The book will [hopefully] be more intriguing if you can’t remember every detail.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, the right book will be stimulating enough to help you focus on something other than your worries, but not so fascinating that you can’t tear yourself away from it.

Comfort Food for the Stressed Part 1: Eating or Reading?

We all have go-to methods of dealing with stress. Exercise, coloring books, sleep, and movies are just a few weapons we have in our arsenal of stress-combatting techniques.

One [unhealthy] alternative many people – including myself – turn to is known as “stress eating.” I will explain to the uninitiated: stress eating is the phenomenon in which high levels of stress create a raging sense of hunger for unhealthy snacks, often of the heavily salted or sickly sweet variety. Indulging in the eating of such snacks results in a food-induced sense of well-being, at least for a short period of time. I guess they call unhealthy foodstuffs “comfort food” for a reason.

I hope it is plain to see how this method of stress management is not healthy. In order to fight the plight of stress eating, I propose that we turn to a different type of comfort food: comfort food for the brain.

In a word: books.

 

Those of us who are bookworms might find that digging deep into the bookshelf instead of the pantry might be a better method for de-stressing. To really dig into the issue, let’s take a look at what is involved in stress eating and in stress reading.

 

Stress Eating

I explained what stress eating is above, but I didn’t examine the underlying motivation for it. In my experience, I actually often do feel hungry when I have a lot weighing on me – I like to say that I’m burning calories with all my thinking. However, I suspect that I’m not really hungry. Much like bored eating, I think I stress-eat in reaction to certain feelings.

“I feel stressed, so I’ll take off the edge with this piece of chocolate,” I say to myself. I also think it is easy to lose some self-control when stressed, which might make it easy to overindulge in comfort foods.

Stress Reading

Much like stress eating, I find myself flipping open a book cover in reaction to feelings of stress. Unlike the previous method, though, I have discovered that stress reading can act as a “reset button.” The experience of getting lost in a beloved story is enough to take my mind off my problems and, when reading is concluded, I can approach my many nagging tasks with a fresh outlook.

Stress eating might make me feel better, but I don’t get so lost in eating that I can ignore the stressors of life for a bit. This is one of the real benefits that stress reading provides that stress eating cannot. And, let’s not forget that reading a book is guaranteed to add fewer calories to your diet than stress eating.

Do your body – and mind – a favor. The next time you are stressed, reach for a book instead of the munchies.

Next time: How to Choose the Proper Stress-Reading Book