antis seem to misunderstand what is meant by fiction being used as a healthy coping mechanism. it doesnt mean it is healthy for every individual, and it doesnt mean that it works for every individual.
firstly, coping is not always pretty. it isnt always healthy nor romantic. sometimes coping is using something that relieves the pain enough to keep pushing on, regardless of if it is actually helping. furthermore, some coping methods actually cause a stronger emotional reaction which allows for people to process and relieve pain, such as crying to sad music or movies that relate to the victim’s experiences. is it healthy to make yourself cry? probably not. does it help release the pain trapped inside? for most, yes.
secondly, what works for some does not work for others. i have many friends that vent through art, it relieves the pain and they become calm afterwards. i also have friends that have drawn vent art and become significantly worse, i have seen vent art from others that has sent me into a depressive spiral because it forced me to relive a memory that was traumatic. am i allowed to ban other artists from venting in the form of art? no. it is my responsibility to curate my internet experience, the same piece that harmed me might have saved someone else, or the artist themselves.
a coping mechanism ≠ a cure. it does not work the same for everyone who tries it, the same way some people have been saved or ruined through their own methods of relieving their pain. i would not have survived without some of my unhealthy coping mechanisms, and i would not have recovered without the healthy coping mechanisms, but the idea of healthy vs unhealthy will always be dependent on the person using it. fiction has always been healthy for me, it has never impacted me negatively and helped me recover from sexual abuse trauma in a way that my friends who did not have such mechanisms, have not. i know victims of csa who have night terrors, are afraid to shower or change their clothes, who can barely function and refuse to trust anyone anymore. yet i have met people who write the most grotesque and horrifying fiction, people who have gone through repeated trauma and who have experienced the most violating, agonising experiences you can imagine, who have recovered to a point you would never know they have gone through such horrors. why? because they expressed themselves in fiction, whether vent works or sexual fantasies that gave them control of the experience. do they want that to ever happen again? no. do they want to enact such things onto other people? no.
just because something has not helped you, does not mean it doesnt help other people. fiction is not something that brings physical pain to someone, it is not something that directly or indirectly affects others (such as how substances or self harm do), it is comparable to properly tagged and filtered vent art, as well as sad movies and music, or media depicting violence which many people also use to cope with trauma, yet do not go out and harm people.
