Escapism – brief flight from reality

Kanisa George

CLOSE your eyes, take a deep breath, and dream of the beach.

Imagine the sound of waves and a wind gently splashing salt deposits on your face. Dream of a drink in your hand at Anchor bar or maybe the tranquil scenes of the Phi Phi islands. Whatever you imagine, visualise yourself calm and serene.

Visualise yourself having fun. Keep dreaming of the beach; after five minutes, open your eyes and return to the task at hand. There, you conjured the beach in a magical, immersive experience.

For a few blissful moments while at the beach, you were able to ignore reality and experience restfulness and unconscious escape. When we take a few moments of respite (like going to the beach) from somewhat harrowing realities, it can be equivalent to astute coping in some scenarios.

Taking mental vacations like scrolling Instagram, watching TikTok videos, reading, or gaming, temporarily halts the chaos that might be consuming everything around us.

Escapism, similar to daydreaming, is the tendency to escape from the real world to the delight or security of a fantasy world. It is no surprise that indulging in fantasies is an easy form of self-soothing when situations become too challenging to manage or when we feel frustrated with life in general.

We even use escape methods as a self-made mind map that not only projects our perception of our future selves but also brings into focus what we envision it to look like.

Floating off to a safe yet exciting destination can instantly make our minds feel happy, boost our mood and help us regain our footing when we re-enter reality. The place beyond hither provides a space for us to check out mentally, and it can be a soothing self-care mechanism once used appropriately.

No doubt it's a proven stress-reliever, but without even trying, we can somehow regain a sense of clarity.

Is it really such a bad thing if our escapes become intruding habits? Should we regulate the things that allow us freedom, albeit short-lived?

Behavioural therapists warn that escaping too often for far too long can turn self-care implements into potentially harmful behaviour. When diversions seep too far into the fabric of our lives, threatening the mould we've worked so hard to cure, it might be time to consider an escape from your escape.

Escapism may reflect a periodic, normal, and common impulse, as seen in harmless daydreams. Still, when heavily relied on, researchers predict that it may be evidence of or accompany symptoms of neurosis or more severe mental pathology.

Therapist Kelly Kitley highlights the importance of escaping, saying that sometimes we all need to "check out and kind of pretend" that life is beautiful and perfect.

Constant use of this format, according to Kitley, has the potential to become an avoidance mechanism. Instead of using small pockets of reprieve to decompress and refuel, escaping in an overused, somewhat toxic manner is a facade we satiate to pass the time and avoid life's trouble.

In Finland, a longitudinal study that examined escapism and excessive online behaviours such as gaming and internet use highlighted escapism as one of the key drivers behind online behaviours in both adaptive and maladaptive ways.

Interestingly, the study focused on the increased need to ensure self-awareness as a direct response to changing patterns in our modes of communication. The results showed that escapism increased in response to increased pressure to achieve greater self-awareness.

The study's main findings revealed that escapism is motivated by a desire to avoid negative emotions, illustrated by the robust connection between escapist motivation and excessive online behaviours.

In short, escapism, if not correctly regulated, can sometimes represent relief-seeking and sometimes pleasure-seeking tools that push people away from their daily problems and worries without much thought given to problem-solving or positive coping mechanisms.

So how do we self-regulate our escapes, you ask? Know thy self.

It starts by taking a moment to consider why you need to escape in the first place, how often you escape and whether there is a much deeper underlying issue that you might be avoiding. Is your escape causing you to miss a considerable part of your day?

An honest response to these questions would tell you all you need to know regarding your self-regulating ability.

Then there is the emotions test.

One expert suggests paying attention to how you feel after escaping. Did the activity leave you feeling creative, inspired or more relaxed? If yes, you may be deriving positive benefits, which suggest positive self-regulating attitudes.

If you feel low, numb or even afraid to return to real life, it could be worth seeking more positive forms of support, like talking to a friend, physical activity or, in severe cases, therapy.

Understanding whether escapism is working for or against you makes all the difference, as this informs how well we are to cope and rise above daily challenges and whether you need to find other outlets that allow you to experience positive respite.

Thankfully, escapism isn't always harmful; it merely requires self-regulation, accountability and a clear path back to reality.

It is when we find that living in an alternate universe, as opposed to confronting our problems and exercising mindfulness is an adequate way to live, that we become stuck in multiple realities we are unable to reconcile.