Discussion Post: Reading Slumps | How This Affects My Reading Habits & My Tips to Overcome This Mental State 📝

 ⚡️ Hi guys, I hope you’re having an AMAZING day, full of good readings! 💞 Today I bring you another discussion post! (super excited), It’s something that really makes me happy to have started doing this year and I don’t want to start without thanking you for the support you have given me in my previous posts, it means the world to me. So, I love checking out this type of posts around the blogosphere, so I think it could be fun to start writing them myself and share with you so we can all talk about different topics related to the literary world, books & blogging. 

Today I want to bring you a super important discussion all about Reading Slumps. Lately, especially in the last 2 months, I’ve seen many of my book blogger friends going through this situation and other community reading members as well, I think it probably has a little to do with everything that’s happening in the world right now, but I also think that it’s a mental state that’s quite normal to come at these times when we are in the middle of the year and you know, things begin to come to us, all the stress and worries finally reach us and suddenly we’re full into this slumpy mood, where it can be difficult to get out of. So I thought it was a good idea to talk a little bit about it, since I think that sharing our experiences can be a very healthy way to begin to heal and finally come out of this state, so besides telling you a little about my personal experiences, I’ve also want to share with you my top tips that have helped me in the past to overcome reading slumps and do a little reflection on how my ways of dealing with it has changed over time. I sincerely hope that this post can be of help to you right now & that you can come back to it at any time where you’re feeling down.❤️ 

If you want to check more of my discussion posts, here they are: The first is all about Book Reviews, the second is all about The Meaning of being an International Book Blogger, the third one is all about Rating Systems & last but not least we talk about The Pressure of Blogging.
I LOVE you, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH, for the support 😊, I don’t want to stop saying it, I feel honored to you to be in my life and that you allow me to be in a piece of yours. So without further ado, let’s get started! & I hope you enjoy it ⚡️

 

 

 

 

The terrible reading slumps can happen to literally all of us and unfortunately many times, sometimes they last a few days but sometimes it can last up to months. So what is this? and why does it happen? Personally, I think that due to many factors, in my case I’m only there one day trying to read my books and nothing seems to be right, you know? And that’s when I realize that something is happening. For many, on the other hand, it may come from external factors, perhaps you’re dealing with a lot at that time, perhaps personal problems that come to you and overwhelm you, or perhaps the pressure itself to read everything or meet each one of your goals makes your brain say, “No, you definitely need a break”
Be that as it may, and wherever it comes from, I’m sure that most of us have experienced it, especially if you work or do something related to literature/reading world, cause that comes with extra pressure to “have” to read everything.

In this post I want to tell you a bit about my experiences, and how over time I’ve achieved some “techniques” or “behaviors” to get out of this mental state and return to being myself, but first I want to start by sharing with you my experiences in the past and right now.
I’ve go through several reading slumps, but they’re usually, although intense, quite short in general, maybe I’m in that way for a couple of weeks at most. The first time I dealt with this I had no idea that there was even a word for that feeling, and at that time I still didn’t have the blog, so for some reason, it happened quite unnoticed for me, I just stopped reading and I go through it letting myself be carried away by my feelings and emotions. Did I get frustrated? I would say that at that time, not really, because I didn’t have any kind of external or internal factor that told me that something bad was happening, I used to read very little, so I almost didn’t notice it and when I returned to normal I grabbed my book and everything was fine.
Now things are a little different, I have my blog and here I speak about books, so not being in the mood to read can be very frustrating, because if you don’t read you don’t have anything to talk about, right? And you end up having a very stressful time thinking what’s happening with you? and what’s wrong with you? Or I’ve even thought that maybe I was losing my passion for reading, which scared me a lot, I must confess. In those moments I really didn’t know what to do, and it’s really sad when you’re a reader and that makes you happy and suddenly it seems that your body decides that it no longer wants to do what you love, isn’t interested in it anymore and you end up battling it, which was my first mistake.
I’ll talk more about my tips below, but guys, NEVER battle your reading slump, that only makes it worse and don’t force yourself to continue with your normal daily reading habits, that won’t work either and you will end up feeling even worse about yourself.

So, when I went back to going through this, and I was going crazy about it, I decided to continue with my normal habits and obviously that didn’t work, so I started doing my research and saw other posts and other bloggers gave advice on what to do in this situation and that what had really worked for them and what didn’t. And that’s when I started to implement certain techniques, some of which I got from other readers and others that I perfected over time, to stop punishing myself for being in that state and to begin to understand what was that really happening to me and dealing with it in the most healthy way. You have to keep in mind that although it’s full of techniques out there and tips to follow, not all will work for you and that’s fine, the idea is to try some until you find the one that resonates best with you.
I know that maybe all this of reading slump thing, it sounds extra-dramatic, but I know from experience and listening to other blogging friends that it can be a very stressful time and you know as I always say, mental health comes first, that’s why I wanted to write this post in the first place. It’s not just about talking about how horrible it’s not being able to pick up a book in months, but about how therapeutic and healthy it can be to just talk about that, get it off your chest
& also I really want to give you some tools so that this is not a problem in your life anymore but an opportunity, which sounds crazy, I know, but I promise you that you can change your perspective and go from a chaotic and confused state of mind to a state of peace and harmony with yourself.

So in summary, June was a pretty stressful month for me, all about the quarantine came to me very hard and also this “new reality” is too much for me, I think it’s a time of adaptability, you know? and it seems that my brain clicked and suddenly nothing of what I had planned to read worked for me, I tried to change and do some of my techniques and I ended up reading 6 books that month despite and accompanied by my reading slump, which is pretty great, obviously. I hope you can overcome your readings slumps too or just deal with it in the best way, don’t worry, that’s why I’m here! to help you… so prepare yourself a coffee, get comfortable and stay with me while I share some magic tips with you.

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📝 #1 – Accept it & Be Okay About it

Guys, the most important thing to do at that time when you realize that you’re going through a reading slump, is to actually accept what you’re going through and it’s fine. Open yourself to understand that this is happening for some reason, and instead of struggling with it or punishing yourself for how you feel, you should sit down for a second and check your thoughts. If you don’t get friendly with the idea that you’re going through a reading slump, then all the time you’ll try to ignore it or just continue with your normal reading activities, and that will only make you feel more and more frustrated, which I don’t want to happen t you. So, you accept it and you have to know that it’s okay to go through this. Sometimes our brain reacts in certain ways to stress or tension, reading slump is just one of those ways where your mind is asking you for something, maybe a break or maybe a bit of peace and relaxation. Instead of ignoring that and continuing to put all that stress on yourself, listen to it, listen to your body and enter that state of acceptance, and know that it’s an opportunity to put aside everything you were doing and re-encounter with yourself. and maybe create or adopt other activities until you feel like reading again.
This isn’t a race, you have to understand and make this true: If you don’t feel like reading, then don’t do it.
This community is extraordinary, but when you enter into a constant competition to see who reads the most, then it stops being positive and begins to be a problem that only you can change. The important thing is to enjoy the experience reading, my love, if you force yourself because you feel that you have the “obligation” to continue with your routine or to follow your TBR, then you have to rethink whether this is really healthy and good for you right now, you know?
Just stop for a second and listen, if the answer is a reading slump, then take it as an opportunity to take a break or maybe try new things. It’s okay not to want to read, that doesn’t make you less of a reader.

 

📝 #2 – Change your Reading Habits

If you’re going through a reading slump and what you want is to change that mental state in which you find yourself, well, after accepting it and being at peace with it, you have to see what things you’re used to doing in your reading routine. Take notes of each step, of each book and of each small habit that you’ve adopted as your own and unique, because we’ll give it a shake and we’ll change some things.

🌙 Re-read a Favorite Book

I’m sure you’ve already heard this tip because it’s super effective, and it has worked with me on several occasions, so I can’t stop recommending you to return to your comfort zone, if there’s a book that’s your favorite and makes you feel good inside, then give it another chance and relive all those wonderful emotions. That will give you a special motivation to want to continue reading, and you’ll also forget a little that you’re going through that reading slump and instead focus all your attention on enjoying and living that incredible story you love all over again.

🌙 Read a Short Novel, a Graphic Novel, or an Audiobook

If you’re going through a reading slump, but still want to read something, I highly recommend that you change the format, sometimes a long reading or a dense book can be quite a challenge when you’re in this state, so a format change can make you feel more comfortable, you may feel more motivated to read or it may simply make the process easier and more enjoyable. An audiobook can be a great way to go through your reading in a way that you can do other things while listening to it and you don’t have to be 100% focused on the reading itself, a graphic novel can make reading much easier to read and fast-paced, also the graphics make the experience lighter and more fun, surely it will seem much easier to you also for the huge amount of dialogues that contain & last but not least effective, I recommend a lot of short novels or even anthologies, focusing on a simpler and shorter story that doesn’t have such complexity in itself can be something super positive to try while you’re going through a slump. Don’t push yourself anyway, if you’re not feeling any of these things, that’s fine!

🌙 Set Easy Goals to Achieve

This is pretty self-explanatory, but I think it’s a great way to get past your reading slump and fool your brain a little bit in the reading process. Set reading goals that are easy for you, like reading 20 pages that day, for example, or trying to read 2 chapters of your book, or listening to X percent of your audiobook, even finishing a short graphic novel. Whatever you choose, I want to feel easy to reach for you, so in this way, it will feel super good once you achieve it and so you can increase your goals until your state returns to normal. You will see that it will make you feel much more motivated, you can even try this in all areas of your daily life!

🌙 Try a Different Genre

There’s nothing better than being surprised with a new genre of reading, even with some sub-genre that you generally don’t read or perhaps a genre of your favorites that you haven’t tried for a long time. This will give you a new renewal vibe, which is great because when you’re going through a reading slump what you want the most is to feel refreshed and this is one of the best options to feel this way. For example, I choose contemporaries when I feel slumpy because I usually read a lot of fantasy and mystery, so I give my brain something more light-hearted and it usually loves it lol. So I highly recommend a genre change

 

📝 #3 – Self-Care & Inspiration

If you’re going through a reading slump, what will help you the most is to focus on yourself and what you want and like to do, even when that has nothing to do with reading. Spoil yourself, love yourself a little, take a relaxing bath, you can do a recipe that you like, take a walk, exercised, meditates, watches some movies and series, whatever your choice is doing, do it for you and because you just feel good doing it. Sometimes the best way to return to your state when you love and enjoy reading is not reading at all and letting yourself be carried away by this state in which you’re going through. I’m absolutely sure that this comes to you cause you need to relax and take care of yourself, sometimes we want to do it all or in this case, read it all and we forget that the most important thing is to feel good while we do it, that’s why we must return to that state, and nothing better than doing things you love, for the simple fact of doing them.
Take this type in addition to taking care of yourself, also to inspire you. You can watch youtube videos, take a class, learn a new language, or even surround yourself with books even when you’re not the one reading them. For example, you can blog hopping, that always gives me a good mood, also seeing Booktubers reading makes me feel super motivated to read myself, so I highly recommend it.
What I want to tell you here is that you can stay inspired and have a positive energy about reading even when you aren’t doing it yourself, surround yourself with books and enjoy seeing other people reading, it’s really a beautiful feeling.
If you have a blog like me, take this time to change some things, prepare your space, which will give you beautiful energy that will return you to your roots, which is super positive.
Only do things that feel good for you and give yourself time: time to do nothing AT ALL, because that’s also productive and restorative.

My love, reading slump doesn’t last forever, I promise so don’t feel insecure or afraid because you think you’ll never read again, YOU WILL, take it easy and don’t be hard on yourself. Take and see this time as an opportunity to take a break from your normal activities and do something new, something that feels good and right for you. Stay positive, we all go through this and we all survive, the important thing is to know how to take care of yourself and give yourself the space you need when you need it. Your love of reading is there intact and will return faster than you think. 🥰 

 

Credits for the source of the original image HERE

Thank you SO much in advance for reading this and I hope you liked it & thank you, as well, for all the support and love! ❤️

🌿 Now, is the time to Chat!: Have you experienced a reading slump? | What would you recommend to get out of this mental state? | Let me know all your experiences & Tips, I’m sure they’ll be of great help to all who read it 🌿

Feel free to leave your comment below, I always love to know what you think

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