As a lover of reading I was incredibly interested in how this might work. I have also done a lot of work on representations of 'madness' and mental health in literature in the past so I am keen to investigate the relationship in reverse.
What is even more important however is that this six week course is being offered free via Future Learn, an online course provider making it hugely accessible to the public, not just literature students. This came in the same week that Time to Change had their Time to Talk day, dedicated to beating the stigma around mental health.
The course deals with a different issue every week from stress to conditions like depression and bipolar. It also spans a range of literary forms, looking at poetry, plays and novels.
I have signed up to take the course as I am keen to see what I will learn from it and how I might be able to use my reading in a more beneficial way. I definitely think reading can help with managing stress and maybe with learning how to deal with more serious conditions too.
But equally I think it could have a negative effect. I remember how distraught I was after reading Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar a few years ago; I cried for hours and couldn't stop stressing over it for days. While it is an incredible book it should certainly only be read if you are in the right frame of mind to deal with some of the distressing issues it raises. So I also think it will be interesting to see how potentially damaging texts could be dealt with.
I will be blogging about my experience on the course and what I learn in the next few weeks so watch this space!
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