Actually On That Subject I Genuinely Think Reading Older And Fucked Up Books Is Excellent Exposure Therapy

actually on that subject i genuinely think reading older and fucked up books is excellent exposure therapy for moral ocd/anxiety especially if it was triggered by the climate of twitter. you approach it at your pace and you will inevitably come across something on a page that shocks you, or is offensively dated, or otherwise clashes with your own views. and you're going to stop and wait for a voice to come out of nowhere and yell at you and accuse you of being fucking evil.

and the coolest thing is that it never happens. and you finish the book and let yourself feel all the things you need to feel about it and you close it and realize no one was hurt. like at all. everything is safely contained between the pages and you didn't become a danger to others bc your mind's eye beheld an assault scene or a vaguely incestuous subplot. and you learn to trust the author and realize that authors are trusting you in return and you come away much healthier for it. you experienced a story, safely, as humans have for ages. :)