#voxnipop

You can teach yourself to read again.

I'm 32, and reading again now, but for several years, I just straight up never picked up a book. Between TikTok and games and work and depression, the appeal died.

And worse? When I tried, I couldn't muster the attention to get through more than a few pages, and was so discouraged I stopped.

But you can learn it again. Slowly, sometimes. More slowly than I wished. But the door isn't locked, or even closed, just a bit stuck.

Some things I did that helped me:

1. Short story anthologies. I know there are "best of the year" anthologies for horror and scifi/fantasy, and I picked a couple up.

2. Try different mediums. I can finally read on my Kindle again, but I digest material much better when I can annotate with paper. Play around. You aren't locked in

3. Read out loud, to yourself or others. One of my happiest memories of a really shitty time of my life was reading "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas' to my friend while she was driving on a road trip. Speaking makes you slow down and personally helps me keep my mind from wandering as easy, since I'm engaging in two ways.

4. Reread a book you cared about as a kid. For me it was Where The Red Fern Grows and Frankenstein. Not so familiar you skim, but use those preexisting positive feelings.

5. Let yourself be frustrated. The number of times that first novel I had to close my book and walk up and down the hallway a few times is in the dozens. It's frustrating. That's okay.

6. Seriously, you might get frustrated. You are reacquainting your brain with a rusty skill, and building back up for ability to focus your attention. When my therapist asked me to try meditation, it was a very similar set of mental muscles flexing. If you wander, it's not a punishable offense, just redirect yourself back. You did good just by recognizing you were wandering.

7. Set aside time and create a ritual. I read first thing in the morning for twenty minutes before my walk, while the taste of the mint toothpaste lingers. While my mouth tingles, I read (and these days, I read until my backup timer goes off, since I'm beginning to be able to immerse myself quickly again.)

I really hope this helps someone, because as a once avid reader, I felt so ashamed and, well, just plain stupid, when I realized I couldn't anymore.