Reading Leads to Less Depression?

The Nov. 22, 2011 issue of the Daily Inspire had an article on reading for happiness. This intrigued me quite a bit and so I looked up the article it quotes and found the abstract of the study mentioned. I guess you can tell that I like to look at the source.

I am very interested in this study for several reasons. There are people in my family who suffer from depression, including myself. I remember as a youth turning first to reading and later to music as a source of comfort. When I was younger, I turned towards reading. I found solace in the character's challenges and felt the time away from reality was a blessing. My father did not like all my reading. He felt I was trying to escape from my responsibilities (he was probably right) and when he found me reading would instantly give me more chores or household assignments to watch younger siblings. So, my voracious reading began to incur penalties.

Maybe that is why I was so drawn to "A Thomas Jefferson Education" and "Leadership Education" because I could see within it's pages the education I wanted as a youth. I could see the disparity between how teens are viewed in today's society vs. how they could be viewed. In turn, I've tried to give my children the freedom to learn, study, and read as much as possible. That is not to say I never interrupt, but I do try to make sure that they are given plenty of warning beforehand and a scheduled outline of what they need to accomplish each day for household responsibilities.

My turn towards music in my later teen years was encouraged by my parents. They bought me records (gasp!) and cassette tapes of various music. They never purchased books for me, in fact, I begged to go to the library and they rarely allowed it. The school library only allowed 2 books at a time and I could only go once a week. In jr. high, I discovered a librarian that would allow me to come into the library during lunch and read as well as check out more books. That year was one of the best for me!

I wonder if I had been allowed to read as I wished if my depression as a youth would have been less. There is no way to know, but it is an interesting thought.

My only question then becomes...what to do about the teen who doesn't want to read? How can we help them choose reading over music, video games and television? We can structure time, but sometimes that too is not enough.