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 esca
