Deep Thoughts: Escapism

Typically when we don't want to talk about or address something, we deflect away from it. There are many ways to do this such as with humor or sarcasm, a popular and easy get away strategy. A joke about something unrelated or a playful comeback, anything for a distracting laugh. Few use anger and redirection as another tactic. Bring up a past argument or point fingers at someone else. Regardless, we all have ways of leaving unwanted situations and avoiding social faux pas. But what happens when we escape non-social problems?

Most people know what procrastination is and odds are we've all been there and done that. Whether it's a school paper or a work project, some are just not great with managing their time. However, while procrastination is a wide known method of avoidance, it's not the only one out there. Have you ever lost yourself in a good book? Used recreational drugs? Or maybe got carried away in your favorite playlist? Many healthy people have an escape of some sorts, a place to go when the stress becomes too much and life overwhelms us. The problems arise when we refuse to leave our safe havens and return to reality. 

Distractions are useful when we need to step back and reassess our situations but for some, the cycle of escapism continuously repeats. We start with encountering a difficult situation in reality, these vary from person to person and highly depend on the individuals capacity for stress. Next we overwhelm ourselves with possible solutions and issues that can arise from them causing us to seek out a known comfort. This leads to the escape, we spend much time avoiding the situation by changing our environment and pulling our mind somewhere entirely different. The next step on the cycle determines whether or not the cycle is broken or repeats. After the escape has exhausted, or an outside influence has pulled us out, we must determine how to confront the situation that overwhelmed us originally. If the problem is easily resolved and we are able to move on, another escape may not be needed. However, many of us have situations that require larger solutions. 

The cycle repeats until interrupted by an outside force or a change in reality. Our escapes call to us like siren songs but having the confidence to confront reality is what keeps our heads afloat in life. And if you find yourself drowning, yell for a lifesaver. Just don't stop trying. What do you do to escape? Until next time, stay safe.

-Navi

Image source: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/voyager-1-sees-the-great-red-spot