Escapism is the act of avoiding reality by indulging yourself in activities that divert your attention from important tasks. These tasks may include an assignment deadline, a traumatic event, a project due date, a breakup, or maybe a presentation. Social media, vaping, smoking, substance abuse, and playing video games are a few examples of ways to distract oneself from or deal with other issues. The mind uses it as a survival mechanism to deal with memories or painful events. This blog covers the meaning of escapism, the escapism mechanism, forms of escapism, and how to deal with it.
What is Escapism
Escapism is the behavior of looking for comfort and diversion from painful realities through fantasy or entertainment. It’s a method by which people escape the stresses and difficulties of daily life and find comfort in activities that take them to a different state of mind.
Life is becoming more difficult day by day. Our life is now active 24/7. This is all possible because of technology. But with all these advancements, anxiety, depression, and stress are all on the rise. This is the reason people are now looking for ways to enjoy their lives. Finding appropriate ways to escape has never been more important than now. That is why people find their mental peace in activities that take them away from the present situation.
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Who is an Escapist?
A person who finds himself comfortable in this fantasy and a virtual world without his worldly problems is an escapist. To some extent, every one of us is an escapist because we all utilize these activities to get rid of our daily life issues. Escapism can result from any life change, including constructive ones like moving from a smaller to a bigger house. Escapism can also result from hurtful life events like the death of a loved one or a breakup.
Why Do People Seek Escapism?
People usually look for escapism to get instant relief from the problems and anxiety that come from being human. Everyone has his own problems and they find their own ways to deal with it. Sometimes, they do healthy activities, and sometimes they exhibit activities that take them away from reality.
Escapism is usually associated with two positive results, such as mood restoration and relaxation. Bad outcomes associated with escapism include social withdrawal and excessive media use. The need to escape can be heightened by emotions such as grief, fear, fatigue, and low self-esteem.
Read More: Can ADHD cause Anxiety?
Research shows that people who suffer from ADHD love to escape. So, ADHD can also be a reason for escapism.
Types of Escapism
There are different types of escapism. Scrolling through social media and daydreaming are both forms of escapism. The habits become escapism types when you utilize them to escape from reality. This can be observed if you use it whenever you feel a little uncomfortable and thoughts about that particular situation or task come to your mind.
Escapism can be very harmful if it is very common. Overuse of anything can be detrimental to your physical as well as mental health. An example of its disastrous type is when you take a break of 5 minutes for your entertainment but end up sitting for two to three hours on your social media.
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Common forms of escapism include:
Social Media
It’s bad for your health to spend so much time on social media. These days, Instagram Reels are the most popular distraction. Whenever you scroll through Instagram Reels, it releases dopamine, which causes you to stay there and not go back to your hectic life.
Vaping or Smoking
For other people, vaping or smoking serves as an escapism tool as it gives you relief from difficult events or unpleasant thoughts. It assists individuals in letting go of bad emotions, boredom, stress, and anxiety.
Eating
You might have seen that some people eat when they are nervous or in an unpleasant situation. They use it as a diversion from the existing circumstance. This is not an eating disorder, but it can affect and lead to other issues.
Substance Use
Addiction to substance use to escape your current problems is also a form of escapism. Some people use drugs to escape their issues, which is very harmful, but it gives them relief. This instant relief of escapism turns into an addiction, which influences their life a lot.
Daydreaming
You might have heard the phrase “Delulu is the only solulu,” which means being delusional is the only solution. Some people are too weak to deal with the actual circumstances, so they constantly live the ideal life in their minds.
Read More: Is An Eating Disorder An Addiction?
Other Forms of Escapism
These are the unhealthy forms of escapism. Other types of escapism include those that can be healthy and unhealthy.
- Physical activity
- Shopping
- Reading books
- Listening to music
- Dancing
- Gardening
- Sleeping
Why Does the Brain Happily Escape?
Our brains happily escape because whenever you do something that excites you or makes you happy, it releases a neurochemical, dopamine, which makes us feel better. That is why our brain loves to escape. Usually, when we eat chocolate, dopamine is released.
The excessive release of dopamine is highly effective in our daily lives. When we want instant happiness or escape, we indulge ourselves in activities that make us happy, resulting in the release of dopamine. This excessive release leads to procrastination because we want instant rewards that can be given by activities we love, not by work.
Read More: Types of Eating Disorders That Are More About Feelings Than Food
Escapism to Feel Good About Yourself
Escapism isn’t always a negative thing. It can also be beneficial sometimes. For example, daydreaming and imaginative play are the perfect examples of healthy escapism. When a child gives himself in a story completely, he can relate to the character and understand the story better. Being physically active is one of the most important components of good health. One of the best ways to keep stress levels low and creativity high is to use physical activity as an escape from the stresses of the outside world.
However, excessive escapism can cause severe changes in your life, affecting both your personal life as well as your professional life. Substance abuse also includes using drugs or alcohol as an escape. Other detrimental forms of escapism include vaping, smoking, and social media. It can cause many mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, acute stress, and depression.
Read More: Overcoming Harm OCD: Signs, Treatment and Recovery
Mental Health Treatment at Inland Empire Behavioral Group
Are you looking for how to stop escapism? You are lucky to have found us. We know all the healthy coping techniques for negative escapism. Whether you need treatment for escapism or other mental health conditions like psychosis and bipolar disorder, we have got you covered. Our telehealth solutions for telepsychiatry and psychiatric medication management can help you at your home. Contact us now and get the solution.
Read More: Bipolar Disorder And OCD: Insight into the facts
Conclusion
There is tension in life. Escapism is a way to distract yourself from important tasks to get an instant reward from your mind. It can be positive and negative, which ultimately depends on the person and how he takes escapism. Typical examples of escapism include daydreaming, vaping, smoking, social media use, and substance use. People love to escape because their mind gives instant rewards for doing activities they love, but over-escapism can lead to different issues, including procrastination. If you are suffering from negative escapism and want help, Inland Empire Behavioral Group is your go-to solution for telepsychaitry.
