Escapism is the opposite of mindfulness - that is living in the moment, of living mindfully. It may be that for you, facing reality is simply too terrifying. This is at the root of your anxiety, the fear of “doing the living”, becoming frightened of your own existence.
Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general sadness.
Escapism can be a coping skill when used positively; however, to ignore reality completely can be detrimental. If you or someone you care about may be using drugs or alcohol as a form of escapism, we can help.
Escapism comes from a need to avoid unpleasant feelings. Escapism can take many forms like procrastination, addiction, distraction etc. Evans supposes that escapism is a kind of activity occurring because of the current conditions of our media society.
Escapism becomes harmful when it becomes avoidance, and it can involve partaking in unhealthy activities or even healthy ones in excess. For example, shopping isn't automatically bad. However, if you shop to make yourself feel better and avoid difficult feelings, it becomes a negative thing.
Dissociation is often considered a coping or defence mechanism, a way of tolerating stress, boredom or conflict. For some people, dissociation is a form of extreme escapism.
Too much of escapism is bad when it turns into the habit of avoiding. We start avoiding reality, the challenges which lead to a better life. It affects professional growth (procrastinating work) and personal relationships (not solving problems by communication).
If you're an escapist, you might avoid thinking about unpleasant things by playing video games for hours. Some escapists can withdraw into their own heads, distracting themselves with daydreams. Other escapists retreat from the world into movies, television, books, games, alcohol, or even exercise.
Escapism. Overindulging in escapist behaviors could signal a desire to escape from reality or the symptoms of depression. These behaviors might vary but could involve an unhealthy or unsustainable amount of time and money.
It can help reduce stress
This is perhaps one of the most common reasons we turn to escapism. Getting lost in a favourite book, daydreaming while listening to a song or playing a video game can all help us switch off, release tension and reduce stress.
The problem occurs when we escape a little too often for a little too long, or when escaping interferes with our daily life. This can be a sign that we are addicted to escapism. It's important to evaluate whether your escapism is a healthy form of self-care or a potentially dangerous habit.
Dimensions of escapism
The Escapism scale (Stenseng et al., 2012) was used to measure two sets of escapism motives: Self-Suppression and Self-Expansion.
When escapism is helpful, it is when we take a moment to step out of our reality and experience a period of escape from the challenges of our lives. It can help to prevent burn out, can reduce our stress and can increase our feelings of hope, determination, courage and psychological strength.
The feeling that you need to escape is a major sign that you need more of two things in your life: more balance and more rest. Most people who feel trapped and desire escape think that dramatically changing their environment is a solution.
A person's escapism might consist of playing video games, reading books, or fantasizing about living in a foreign country. Some see escapism as negative, hiding an underlying sadness or depression, while others insist that everyone indulges in escapism to some extent.
If you have a tendency to daydream (a lot), then you could be an escapist. Escapists are people who want to create their own reality whilst they go about their daily routine. And these day dreams don't tend to happen purposefully; they actually happen quite naturally when you don't expect it.
Studies have suggested those who use escapism are often depressed. It seems if we don't deal with our issues, and we avoid them we could be at risk of developing a higher level of depressive symptoms.
Depersonalization, derealization, amnesia and identity confusion can all be thought of as efforts at self-regulation when affect regulation fails.
Symptoms of dissociative disorders
sudden and unexpected shifts in mood – for example, feeling very sad for no reason. depression or anxiety problems, or both. feeling as though the world is distorted or not real (called 'derealisation') memory problems that aren't linked to physical injury or medical conditions.
Five phenomena constitute the primary clinical components of dissociative psychopathology: amnesia, depersonalisation, derealisation, identity confusion, and identity alteration.
Escapist tendencies are often a symptom of procrastination—but they're not necessarily the same. Procrastination, like escapism, doesn't need to be an inherently bad thing—all it needs is a deeper look into why it's happening so you're better prepared to manage it.
Music Is A Form Of Escapism
When we listen to music, we enter another world. We listen to the stories sung, rapped, and expressed in lyrical forms that relieve us of our stress and improve our mood.