Escapism and Mental Health

Escapism is defined by Merriam-Webster as "habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine," in this, we mean avoiding reality by submerging ourselves in a fictional world. They are many ways to do this, many forms of "imaginative activities" for some people it's video games, for others books, or television, movies, fanfiction, role-playing games, the list goes on. The one thing they have in common is that they take us out of our own lives and allow us to explore someone else's.

Now, this is all relevant to people with mental health problems because often our own realities are the enemy, so a way to escape that is surely a blessing. And in some ways it is, but it's also true that you can only escape reality so long before you have to return. And re-entry is a cruel mistress.

I say all of this as someone who has been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, and as someone who is, at this point and in all honesty, kind of addicted to escapism. I don't use the word "addicted" lightly either, nor do I use it hyperbolically, I use it in full recognition of the seriousness of what it means to be addicted to something.

My own personal brand of escapism comes largely in the form of television and fanfiction, though movies play their part as well. I value my laptop as my most important possession, not just because it's the most expensive thing I own, but because it contains my ability to disconnect with my own life. I remember vividly have a full breakdown because my laptop charger stopped working and I didn't have a spare, so for nearly a full day I had no access to it at all. Having a panic attack because your laptop is out of power would definitely be seen as an overreaction by most people, but would not know at this point how to navigate my day-to-day life without the ability to escape at any point I needed. As a side-note, I now always have a spare charger on hand, just in case.

None of this is to say that I believe this is a healthy coping mechanism, not at all. I think it's a deeply unhealthy coping mechanism, but it's one I know I'm not alone in utilising. Escapism is a not-insignificant part of why we consume the entertainment we do and as much of it as we do. No one thinks that this year's fifteenth medical drama is a revolutionary television experience, they think it's fun and maybe cheesy and definitely a way of avoiding your own life and responsibilities for an hour.

For most people this form of escapism might be harmless and more a way of winding down in the evening after a long day, but when you suffer from any kind of mental illness every day things become much harder to deal with and so this form of escapism becomes more tempting and harder to stop. Now I don't, and can't, speak for all people suffering from a mental health condition, I can only comment on my own experiences, that being said I don't think this is an isolated case. The way escapism is utilised in this instance is comparable to using drugs, in that someone with mental health problems might use drugs to "get out of their own head" and that's exactly what escapism in the form of television and reading does.

So is escapism dangerous? Well, yes and no. It's not dangerous in the sense that it can cause bodily harm or possible death, but it does carry risk to your quality of life. Because with a million different worlds at your fingertips, who wants to live in this one? When it's already hard to get up out of bed, when simply activities like showering or putting on fresh clothes feel like monumental undertakings, isn't it so much easier to just stay in bed and still have adventures?

How exactly are you supposed to escape escapism?