Rambling Reader: When Real Life Eclipses Fictional Life

There have been a couple of instances in my life where my reading habit takes a back seat to other things. Last summer (2009) it was a health issue that had me in so much pain I couldn't even hold a book or a pen or a bottle of water, OR sit or lie down or stand. It was awful and just kept getting worse so of course I could not focus on reading, or anything for that matter. (Results inconclusive, still being looked into but at least I have little pills that stop the pain.)Currently I have a situation in my personal life that has completely eclipsed any desire to read and when I try to read I just cannot get into the story and I can't stand the characters. I'm in a situation that effects me and books not only in a reading capacity but also in an acquiring capacity. I have not been able to buy a book for a long time. I have maybe stepped into a bookstore 3 times in the last 5 months. I don't even know what is OUT right now in the book world. I used to be so in tune with release dates and new releases and I used to have to get them as soon as they came out.I guess in some ways this is a good thing for me because I was buying books faster than I could read them. ;)The naturopath I see on a monthly basis said something to me that made a lot of sense and I am surprised I didn't think of it myself. I am unable to read right now because my real life situation is so REAL that I cannot escape from it. I have to deal with it so my normal way of escaping through literature isn't going to cut it. Also I read a lot of fantasy books and perhaps I am not into those right now because I am lacking the magic ability to make everything better right now. My brain is focusing elsewhere at the moment. I don't want to read about people having issues when my issues are so vivid and urgent. I don't want to read about magic and whimsy because I can't bring that to my own life.I miss books. I look at the 83 books I have on my TBR and I think how much I would love to read them. I pick each one up before bed and flip through it to see if maybe this will be the book that my brain wants to read. It never is.I have so much going on in my real life that fiction is just too difficult for me to deal with. It is frustrating and unsettling and I don't know when it will get better.I know that last year at this time I had slowed in my reading but by the holidays it had picked up again. I am hoping that will be the case this year, but I am not entirely certain it will.What I have been doing is focusing on writing on my personal blog because I feel the need to be creative in other ways. Since I can't sit still enough to read a chapter in a book I have been trying to channel that energy into other things.Reading is a great method of escapism but sometimes it's just too difficult to get away from what's going on right in front of you.I miss reading.