I Seem To Have Fallen Out Of Love With Reading And I Don't Know How To Get Back Into It. I Want To Support

I seem to have fallen out of love with reading and I don't know how to get back into it. I want to support all these new creators coming into the fandom but I just; Don't have the energy to engage in something new, even when it's fanfic so I already know the source material and can hit the ground running. I still write and update my WIPs, but that makes me feel even worse for not reading others story's as I know how important comments are for motivation. How can I fall back in love with reading?

First of all: hugs. Take a deep breath in. Hold it. Let it out. 

You don’t have to do everything. 

Life is busy. Life is stressful. There’s a lot of stuff going on and that’s all a lot to deal with. If you don’t have the energy to read fic right now, then don’t read fic. I’m at a point where I’m dipping back into fandoms I read literally twenty years ago because that’s what my brain can handle right now. I’ve accepted that, and I’m giving myself what I need. 

Reading takes energy, just like writing does. Commenting takes energy too. All of it requires focus and concentration and mental processing power that you might or might not have a lot of. 

It’s not that you’ve fallen out of love with reading. It’s that your brain can’t handle new information right now. It might be a good idea to unplug a bit, if you can. Step back from social media. Ignore the news for a week. Reconnect with yourself and the people around you without thinking about everyone online or out in the world. If you’ve been stretching yourself too thin, take some time to contract again. 

The other day, I redid a stress inventory that I did when I was working full time while in graduate school and buying my first home. I’ve got more stress now than I had then - and that’s saying something! But when you look at that list and you think about the world we live in currently, you can see how much we’re all going through. 

Forgive yourself for not being able to do what you used to be able to do. Rethink what your “normal” is. Your best is going to be different on any given day because some days are better than others. You’ll get back to reading again when you have the energy for it, so do what you can to take care of yourself and get some of your energy back. ❤