Do you feel like you want to improve your mental health but do not know how to? Do you struggle with finding accessible techniques that would ease your mental issues?

How literature, reading, and writing can help improve your mental health?

In the case of not being able to access professional help due to financial issues or the stigma surrounding it, people should turn to alternatives that they can work on to improve their mental health. According to the South African College of Applied Psychology, “Reading has been shown to put our brains into a state similar to meditation, and it brings the same health benefits of deep relaxation and inner calm. Regular readers sleep better, have lower stress levels, higher self-esteem, and lower rates of depression than non-readers.” Another alternative could be writing, according to an article written by Deborah Siegel-Acevedo, “Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity.” With that being said, reading and writing can have great effects on an individual’s mental health.

Read literature that relates to your mental struggles.

Book recommendations:

• If you are struggling with battling your trauma, read The Body Keeps the Score.
• If you are struggling with burnout, read Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.
• If you are struggling with being highly sensitive, read The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You.
• If you are struggling with anxiety, read Hope and Help for Your Nerves: End Anxiety Now.

Write down your feelings!

I won’t say that writing is therapy, but for me, the act of writing is therapy. The ability to be productive is good for my mental health. It’s always better for me to be writing than vegetating on some couch.

-Raymond E. Feist.

Questions for further discussion:

-Have you ever used writing or reading to improve your mental health?

-What alternative techniques do you know that work for improving mental issues?

Were you ever talking with a friend and your tongue slips a word in a different language? Or were you ever in a meeting and forgot how to say a simple word in every language you know? Well, I want to assure you that you are not alone!

My personal experience

Around four to five years ago, when I was in tenth grade specifically, I participated in the annual AUS Model United Nations (MUN). I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and practice public speaking among large groups of people. The conference day came and I was welcoming it with full confidence. I was prepared beforehand and had my speech precisely written down on a piece of paper and well memorized. The organizers put us in the designated rooms and we began the debate. To me, everyone seemed so much more confident, clear, and prepared than I was. However, I had to overcome that thought quickly and without thinking, my hand was raised in hope to get a turn to speak. Once the moderator chose me, I stood up and got myself ready to give the best speech I ever wrote.

It all went well and everyone was closely listening, nodding their heads, and looking at me with amazement as I was presenting my argument in a professional and persuading manner- at least that’s what I thought! I barely stuttered and as I approached the end of my speech, I opened the opportunity for questions. Those questions were where it all went downhill. One of the delegates challenged a part of my argument and I had to refute his claims. I believed I was doing a good job until I got defensive and accidentally used the Arabic word “يعني” which translates for “like”. Everyone stared at me and this is where my heart sank and I realized I messed up. However, I ignored what happened and continued to argue. As I got back to the flow of talking, I fell for the same unprofessional mistake, again! I was trying to say “but” while arguing but accidentally said “بس” in Arabic. This time I knew I couldn’t just let it pass. I stood there silently, almost crying, hoping that some miracle saves me from this embarrassment. A few awkward seconds later, the moderators laughed it off, assured me that it was okay, and asked me to sit back.

Today, this is just an embarrassing or funny moment that I recall and tell people about. However, during that time, it was very frustrating and in fact one of the reasons for not winning a certificate, regardless of my efforts. In fact, I stopped participating in MUN ever since that minor incidence as I was afraid that my speaking skills are not good enough. I did not understand how that happened because I thought I was competent in both languages; Arabic and English.

The Research on it

After the incident, I went back home, cried a little, and came across an article that explains it all. Miguel in “Does being bilingual make you smarter?” discusses the downsides of being bilingual, regardless of the benefits that almost everyone agrees on. It highlights that the brain of a bilingual person is overwhelmed with the knowledge of both languages, resulting in weaker verbal skills. In other words, a bilingual person is more prone to forgetting words from both languages or remembering it in one language while speaking the other. Although this could be frustrating or even could cost you doing bad on a job interview or a school assembly, we can’t disregard the benefits of being bilingual.

To read more on this issue, you can check out these articles: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4349351/#:~:text=It%20is%20not%20surprising%20that,Cobo%2DLewis%2C%202007).

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/the-challenges-of-being-bilingual.html

A funny video that sums up the struggle:

Questions for discussion:

1. Were you ever put in a situation where being bilingual was not in your favor?
2. How do you think one could over come the challenges of being bilingual?

See what previous students have posted on the course blog:

ENG 185, Spring 2022

ENG 185, Fall 2020

This year (February 1 – 6!), the Emirates Literature Festival celebrates 15 years of sponsoring and promoting international and local authors, speakers, and literary creativity! According to the Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum,

Every year the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature brings together people from the four corners of the world to Dubai to entertain, captivate and inspire us. These extraordinary writers bring new ideas and different perspectives, promoting dialogue, sharing their works, their thoughts, and their words, building bridges across cultures. This is a Festival full of ideas, of conversations and of stories being written, filling me with hope for the future.

Throughout, the Festival has maintained its passion in championing the joys of reading, bringing the world of books into the spotlight in the UAE. It has provided a platform for the wider appreciation of Arabic poetry and literature, both at home and abroad, and an opportunity to celebrate Emirati culture.

It is a privilege to bring the world to Dubai, through a shared love of literature.

https://emirateslitfest.com/about-us/

Festival Director, Ahlam Bolooki, adds that “the Festival promotes reading as a life-changing habit and culture as a fundamental right.”

The festival offers speaker events, book readings and signings, film screenings, and creative workshops. And a broad range of topics — from young adult to business to animation to scifi to politics to poetry (and others!) — promise to entertain and inspire visitors. Check out their programme. PLUS, university students get 50% off general session tickets.

Events are being held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Festival City (it’s close!) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library. Get your tickets NOW. 🙂

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And as a bonus, if you’re into podcasts, check out the Boundless Book Club for conversations about the books and authors from the Emirates Literature Foundation and fiction and non-fiction recommendations.