Here’s what I want to talk about: Fan Fiction and Mental Health

I was just watching Cece Ewing’s vlog about making reading a habit again after a period of struggling with mental health. It’s a very common symptom for depression to cause a lack of interest in activities you used to enjoy and/or to sap your motivation to do the things you can still muster interest in yet which you just simply cannot force yourself to do.

It. Sucks.

I have experienced this myself and I know people who are currently in the midst of it. Something that has come up several times over my years of thinking and talking about this- and which Cece mentioned in passing in her video,which sparked me to write this out- is that if you are a reader whose mental health makes enjoying reading difficult, sometimes that mental block does not include fan fiction. 

Sometimes it feels impossible to pick up a book and make it past a few pages, but more than once you’ve found yourself at 2am, deep into a 135,000 word fan fiction, no problem.

I can think of several reasons why this may be, but the main point I want to put out there is that it’s important to recognize and value what you can do and what you do enjoy and that finding creative and non-traditional ways to express and experience your interests makes complete sense when common and traditional ways just aren’t working. 

So maybe all you’ve read the past year has never been published outside of archiveofourown.org, but so what? Find what works for your needs and abilities in the present moment and feel proud of yourself for problem-solving outside the box. 

Feb. 7 2019
#mental health #fan fiction #written by me #fandom #problemsofabooknerd
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