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.
Updated: August 13, 2021. The American Psychology Association defines escapism as the tendency to escape from the real world to the safety and comfort of a fantasy world. Since life is innately stressful, coping strategies are essential to making it through each day.
Fantasy literature is escapist in nature, creating another world where the reader and protagonist escape their familiar surroundings and enter into a different and new environment. Escapist fiction creates these alternate, fantasy worlds to escape the immediate socio-political and economic settings of the real world.
An escapist is someone who doesn't live in the real world, but dreams, wishes, and fantasizes instead. 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.
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.
“During traumatic experiences, many individuals naturally 'escape' the situation mentally in order to avoid further distress and psychological harm.”
Two dimensions of escapism were proposed: self-suppression and self-expansion. Self-suppression escapism derives from motivation to avoid negative evaluation of self by getting focused on an activity, whereas self-expansion is motivated from facilitations of positive experiences by getting immersed in an activity.
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.
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.
Escapism in Life
Escapism occurs when you are trying to avoid something. It can come in different forms. Some people escape by seeking out alternate activities, such as sleeping and playing. Some drown themselves in work.
By its definition, escapism means diverting your mind from unpleasant realities—but just like daydreams take us away from the day, fantasy can be a means through which we process events. Real-world issues can still be addressed in a bright and immersive fantasy world. It doesn't have to hold a dark mirror to our world.
Turns out excessive amounts of daydreaming is a form of escapism and this daydreaming has a name, it's called maladaptive daydreaming. Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is extensive fantasy activity that replaces human interaction and interferes with academic, interpersonal, or vocational functioning.
Forms of passive escapism are considered activities which allow consumers to free their mind from their current conditions but do not require much from consumers in terms of cognitive efforts or interactivity beyond their attention and appreciation.
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
Dissociation is one of the most powerful defense mechanisms. Psychology surrounding dissociation centers on escapism – mentally separating yourself from your body (depersonalization) or environment (derealization) – to distance yourself from overwhelming experiences.
Background: Escapism is a tendency to seek escape and distraction from reality or real-life problems. Past research regards escapism as a negative inducement that leads to adverse consequences when combined with substance use and other addictive activities.
Signs and symptoms depend on the type of dissociative disorders you have, but may include: Memory loss (amnesia) of certain time periods, events, people and personal information. A sense of being detached from yourself and your emotions. A perception of the people and things around you as distorted and unreal.
Dissociation can occur in response to traumatic events, and/or in response to prolonged exposure to trauma (for example, trauma that occurs in the context of people's relationships). Dissociation can affect memory, sense of identity, the way the world is perceived and the connection to the physical body 3.
“Escapism is the opposite of mindfulness – that is living in the moment, or 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,” says psychotherapist Amanda Perl.
Attending movies, listening to the radio, dancing to live music, and reading cheap magazines or books containing sensational or gruesome material, popularly known as pulp fiction, allowed people to escape from the uncertainties, anxieties, and loss of self esteem associated with the Depression years.
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.
any response designed to move away from or eliminate an already present aversive stimulus. Escape behavior may be mental (through fantasy or daydreams) or behavioral (physical withdrawal from a noxious stimulus or a conditioned response, as when an animal taps a lever in order to terminate a shock).
Nostalgic escapism is centre stage in fashion. The nostalgia pendulum, a theory explored by Patrick Metzger, argues that cultural trends operate on a 30-year cycle as the consumers of yesterday have become the creators of today.