So will you enlighten me on escapism's dangers?

Question

So someone suggested to me that escapism is a mental illness. That made me LAUGH! Escapism seems to be a good thing! I don't read fiction. If I have a problem brewing in my life, rather than talking to someone, I just go online and look up scientific articles or things I'm curious about for extended periods of time (5+ hours)...but I'm learning. I daydream and I can be detached, but while I am doing this...I'm generally thinking of practical things. When I feel anxious, I use NyQuil so I fall asleep and in the morning, I don't care about the problem anymore. It is so ridiculous. If anything, escapism is a healthier way to cope than exposing your feelings to people who don't really care. So enlighten me, how can this possibly be bad?

That's what's cool about escapism... there is no need to talk to anyone and I think therapists are overrated and most often/likely a waste of time for someone like me.

Answer 1

I don't think escapism is bad. It sounds like you are immersing yourself in interesting things. Just be careful about self-medicating with Ny-Quil--it is a drug. If you do feel the need to talk to someone, some therapists work on a sliding scale. Good luck.

Answer 2

As somebody who was an escapist for a long time I can tell you that over a long period of time your social skills will start to erode slightly and your confidence around other people will suffer. Think of people skills as a muscle and like any muscle if you don't use it, it will become weaker. Then it could make you less likely to want to be around others and your escape time will increase. Escaping is fine in 4-5 hour doses since you are learning but combining that with NyQuil as your answer to things that might worry you seems like putting a bandaid over what might be a bigger problem. I hope you find a good balance as I have and remember to go out even if it's just to be around people at a coffee shop.

Best,
Krankiboy

Answer 3

Well, everyone needs to indulge in escapism from time to time. It only becomes a problem when it becomes a higher priority than your real life. You've heard of the stories about kids that would rather play video games then do just about anything else?........that's one example of escapism gone too far.

Answer 4

What you just described is not escapism. What you describe is being proactive and if anything, I would call it being "solution oriented". It is certainly not bad.

I am much like you in that sense, and I do not like to talk about my problems if I can handle them myself.

Where I find you're mistaken or unenlightened is that many people DO care about those in distress and would like to help. I think you would be much happier telling all your friends that YOU do not care. It would keep them from feeling ignored and uncared for, and it would solve your problem with having to be exposed to someone else's feelings...

.... and why didnt you think of that instead of whining to us? :-Þ

Answer 5

Alonso Quixano did not start out mad...Rather he started out quite sane......And with noble intentions.

But by the time he rechristened himself Don Quixote de la Mancha he was over the edge....

The only danger in escapism is remembering just where that line actually was........... With each sally forth into the other realm the line keeps getting more and more indistinct. And that is because we are actually not sallying forth, We are retreating within ourselves...

Answer 6

Escape behaviors are great, even necessary. Taking vacations, coffee breaks at work, power naps, prayer, meditation, zoning out while you exercise, or any vegging out type activities like TV, fiction, reading, gaming, internet, daydreaming, letting your mind wander to places that you are successful, etc are all great ways to take you out of the moment temporarily and relax your mind. You can nurture yourself, fill up at the well so to speak, and come back to life hassles with a new perspective. So in and of themselves escaping the daily grind is NOT dangerous, it is healthy and helpful.

The trick is to come back from it in a better place to deal with whatever the problem is that drove you to escape in the first place.

It's easy to get in trouble with escapist behaviors because the pleasure principle is so strong. Who wants to deal with reality if things are going wrong when you can veg and it will all be okay? Escapist behaviors in this way are very addictive.

It doesn't sound like in and of themselves, your choices are dangerous. It wouldn't be up to anyone to judge you regardless and even a therapist would need more info than you have given to suggest that you are headed for trouble. I can give you some info though...

My concerns based on what you are sharing:

If you are routinely using Nyquil, one obvious concern is addiction to alcohol or any of the other ingredients in it because a lot of cold medicine has addictive ingredients. Alcohol is a common way to self-medicate for anxiety. So if it was me, I would stay away from Nyquil for the purpose of conking myself out or clearing my head. If you need a sleep aid, you could get one that is less habit forming, OR you could do the warm milk thing, or try an herbal, or take a Benadryl (it is the PM ingredient in sleeptime pain relievers, and also is the same ingredient as Sominex etc) which is not as addictive but does zonk most people.

I would also read up on depression and look for red flags there...sleeping excessively (even drug induced) as a way to put a problem to rest OR being so overwhelmed by a situation that you become physically exhausted are both symptoms of depression.

And my last concern is how much time you devote to escaping problems. I would wonder if you spend that much time tackling the situations that cause your stress. 5+ hours is a LONG time and it doesn't seem like there is that much free time in a day but I also don't know what your obligations are (work, school, friendships, romances, etc) Some folks live so much in their own head that they effectively shut out things that could help them deal with the problems that drove them out of reality in the first place. I have definitely done it myself. Still do on occasion.

But like everything else, you have to look at things in context of your daily life and functioning. If none of this happens on a regular basis and if you have other coping skills and a healthy support system of people who care about you, you are in better shape than not having these things.

When this becomes dangerous is when you lose control or when your coping skills don't really help you function anymore. I guess the biggie for me to tell you to watch for is that if you escape from problems only to re-emerge later and your problems are worse than before due to negligence (ostrich with his head in the sand?) then it would benefit you to try something different to face the things that trouble you.

Lastly, a little mental health lingo and this IS dangerous...it may startle you to know.

The definition of PSYCHOSIS is loss of contact with reality.

You may be flirting with it a little? That is to say...if you are desperate enough, try hard enough, act severely enough, escape long enough, you can indeed lose touch with reality and sometimes you can't find your way back or separate fact from fiction anymore.

So yes. On top of participating in what can be addictive behaviors, escapism can be dangerous...because you can essentially brainwash yourself into whatever la-la is keeping you from dealing with your problems.

Some alternatives to escaping?

Set small realistic goals for yourself, regarding anything, but toss in a few baby steps that can help you knock out a problematic situation. If you are in debt, start with a very small but delinquent accountl, and devote some serious cash to paying it off for example. At the same time a confidence boosting goal would be to work in a half-hour of something healthy that you LOVE to do everyday or maybe even getting up for a shower every morning.

If you are dealing with problems that are not in your control, you do need to talk to someone...maybe it is the one who can change things, maybe it is just someone who can listen and really hear your feelings, help you sort it out and let those negative emotions really rest.

If you are dealing with constant crisis and chaos, you would really benefit from starting to get organized. Get rid of stuff that you don't need so you don't have to avoid it OR take care of it anymore. Get stuff cleaned up and where it belongs so your home can nurture you and serve you well, so that living in the moment is a functional and pleasurable thing to do. Get some schedules and stick to them...bill paying, errand running, etc. so that basic needs are met that keep you safe and comfortable.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

no
in my case ,i find i was much more dynamic to pursue of my dream when i come to this world again

Answer 8

theres no such thing as mental illnesses

Answer 9

oops

Answer 10

no