Bibliotherapy for Stress Management

Stress management is important to good health. The art of stress management is to stay at a level of stimulation that is healthy and enjoyable. It is important to remember that a certain amount of stress in our lives is actually essential to be sufficiently stimulated in order to meet the challenges of everyday life. Long-term stress can be damaging to your health, emotional well -being and can affect your personal relationships. There are simple, natural approaches that you can take toward stress management. A natural approach is often best as there are no side effects and has individual results as stress has individual effects. Bibliotherapy is just one example of this type of therapy or modality.

Bibliotherapy is often used in reference to children. It is used in the clinical setting to help a child to cope with or work through emotional or behavioral issues that they are having. It may also be used for a sick child who is under going treatment or who is about to or has undergone surgery. For instance, a grieving child who reads, or is read a story about another child who has lost a parent will naturally feel less alone in the world, just as a child who has cancer or some other life threatening disease can feel better about their situation. Bibliotherapy can consist solely of reading, or it can be complemented with discussion or play activity. The client may be asked to draw a favorite scene from the book or to act out a favorite part or character.

The concept of Bibliotherapy has been widened over time so that now it can be used to describe one reading self -help books with or without the prompting of a therapist or being prescribed to watch a movie or play that may provide needed catharsis. Bibliotherapy is not a new concept however. Its appearance is linked with the first libraries. Ancient Egyptians called libraries drug stores for the soul and librarians were referred to as doctors of the soul.

Today the concept can be applied to reduction of and stress management. It has been established that when under stress people show the maximum of their abilities. When applied to reading personality development is relative to the subject. Reading like other forms of expression is simultaneously the mirror of the personality’s conflicts whether internal or societal from the one hand and the means of overcoming them on the other hand. A reader’s personal development depends on what is read, how it is read, and what comes out of the reading. Bibliotherapy is often used in combination with writing. Feelings or reflections on what was read can help you to better identify with and to solve problems. As it works with children Bibliotherapy works on the premise that there is a natural inclination for people to identify with others through there expressions in literature. This need to identify with others can also give one a feeling of acceptance. Feeling that ones needs are met builds self-esteem and reading about experiences or emotions can help bring about self-awareness.