The task of literature is to reconnect us with feelings that otherwise might be unbearable to study, but which desperately need our attention.
– Franz Kafka
All the toughest things, the things that make you most anxious, or scared must be acknowledged and delved into to truly free yourself of them. Ignoring or deluding yourself of the things that bring you most anguish, pain, desperation of fear leads them becoming deeper entrenched within you, and having them expose themselves in other areas of your life.
This is where the axe of books and literature (and philosophy) comes in. Kafka says that it’s through books that we can come to grips with the deepest, darkest things that bring us our greatest fears and anxieties. And acknowledging them (and perhaps even embracing them) may lead to you vanquishing for good.