I'm recently divorced after being married for 10 years and abused 7 of those years. I've been through some shit and reading has helped me get through a lot of it. Whenever something bad would happen I would read and it helped and is still helps. I find that reading about what has happened to other characters in other stories actually helps calm me because a lot of times I can relate especially after I wake up from a nightmare I've had about something that I've been through or something triggering me it reminds me of something I've been through I read and it calms me. I have four girls who have had to watch their dad abuse me their whole childhood. We all struggle mentally, emotionally and with PTSD. But we got out and we are survivors. Reading has helped us all and still does ❤️