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.
Escapism in the form of self-suppression stems from motives to run away from unpleasant thoughts, self-perceptions, and emotions, whereas self-expansion stems from motives to gain positive experiences through the activity and to discover new aspects of self.
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.
Issues with Escapism
Over time, drugs and alcohol used to escape from reality can completely take over, creating an addiction.
Evans distinguished productive and “unhealthy” escapism, outlining the following indicators of unhealthy escapism: procrastination, psychosis, denial (leading to rejection of social norms, rigid personal stance on life and isolation) and addiction (inability to control habits).
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.
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.
Dimensions of escapism
The Escapism scale (Stenseng et al., 2012) was used to measure two sets of escapism motives: Self-Suppression and Self-Expansion.
The Chronic Stress Stage: Characterized by early signs of burnout such as chronic fatigue, physical sickness, irritation, and despair. The Burnout Crisis Stage: Your physical symptoms intensify and multiply, you obsess over work difficulties, and you develop an “escapist mentality.”
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.
The psychology of escapism takes into account an important consideration: the desire to escape may be a response to a stimulus, like stress, danger, or adversity, but it also could be a calculated response to emotional survival.
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.
So when things get complicated or overwhelming, ditching the stress of those feelings and starting anew (even figuratively) allows us to temporarily detach ourselves from those uncomfortable feelings and realities. “Running away often feels like the best solution to cease the pain we feel,” says Bianca L.
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.
Movement practices, whether it's yoga, running, dancing or hitting the gym, help reduce the tension and tightness in areas where our worries tend to manifest, like the chest, shoulders and stomach. You'll also come out on the other side with a healthy dose of endorphins, too.
“Theme parks, casinos, virtual reality headsets, chat rooms, or even a game of paint ball” – all are examples of escapist experiences. You might have noticed – many of these also involve entertainment. In fact, these combinations happen a lot with experience planning.
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.
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.
Escapist strategies encourage us to ignore the features of our reality that induce stress. Drugs and alcohol are commonly viewed as escapist strategies since they alter our outlook and make it easy to ignore our reality. Mostly though, they alter one's ability to admit the harsh reality that we're addicted to them.
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).
Synonyms of escapism. : habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine. escapist.
“It's basically hard-wired into our survival instincts,” said Mascardo. Often, the desire to run away happens when people feel overwhelmed by emotions and desire relief. According to Mascardo, this can be more prevalent today because there's a lot going on in the world and plenty of people feel more isolated than ever.
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.