The 3 Healing Benefits of Re-Reading Books

As a bibliotherapist, I have known that re-reading books is a true art form, but it is not something that everyone takes advantage of. I have to admit that I just started re-reading books myself, and it has been an unsuspectedly wonderful experience. Through my journey of re-reading, I have found it to be very cathartic in many ways.

The following are three healing benefits that can be linked to re-reading books. I hope that they will convince you to try re-reading for yourself, or if you already re-read, to find comfort in the health benefits you may are already experiencing.

It Increases Feelings of Comfort and Safety

When you read a book that you find deep enjoyment in, you already know how the book will play out. Having this knowledge beforehand takes away any surprise element and will fill you with feelings of comfort and safety. By knowing how a book will play out, you have full control. This is especially helpful if you are feeling like you don’t have a lot of control in your personal life. Re-reading can be a helpful coping mechanism to try and give you that sense of control that you may be lacking and fulfill that need.

As someone with extreme anxiety, I highly recommend re-reading if you also experience anxiety. Doing so can be a healthy way to manage those uncomfortable feelings.

It Allows You to Address the Feelings You Felt the First Time

Sometimes re-reading can help you to revisit feelings that the book made you feel the first time – either in a positive or negative way. For instance, sometimes I do want to revisit feelings of sadness because it can help me to soothe those feelings in my life outside of reading. It is during these times that I will re-read a book that originally made me feel sadness or despair, because sometimes those feelings can be cathartic. The same goes for wanting to feel any positive emotion, such as happiness. Re-reading books or stories that originally gave you those positive feelings will often do so the second time around.

It Allows you to Explore New Feelings That Come Up

While re-reading allows you to anticipate how the book will play out, you may not always feel the same emotions that you felt the first time, and that is okay! Sometimes this can be the right time to address what new emotions are coming up and try to pinpoint which parts of the book have elicited the new emotions. Doing so can help you to translate this to your life outside of reading and address anything that may be coming up. Sometimes these new emotions are also indicative of growth, which can show you how far you have come since first reading the book.

If you do not currently re-read, I urge you to try it out! It may not be for everyone, but it is a cost-effective therapeutic tool that is easy to add to your schedule. Reading is often such an underrated coping mechanism for so many things, and my wish is that the world will continue to see how impactful reading can be for our mental health.