Life is is challenging, technology is increasing and has enabled us to lead chaotic lifestyles where we are just one click or swipe away from a new distraction.  Stress is definitely on the rise and so is depression and anxiety. As a result, there is a desperate need for people to find ways to escape in order maintain mental and emotional stability. Finding acceptable forms of escapism has become more vital than ever and there are many ways in which we can transport ourselves away from the stresses and strains of the daily grind. 

How many of these forms of escapism do you engage in?

Corporate world

Many people use work to escape. Being busy and burying your head in emails and work projects provides a great escape from having to deal with the fundamentals in life such as personal fulfilment, quality relationships and a satisfying sense of direction in life.

Many people make themselves so pre occupied with work and use this as a distraction from actually dealing with more important issues such as their personal relationships or their own happiness. Work allows us to have an excuse to get through life on automatic mode, with a clear instruction manual of the tasks we need to do and the times we need to do it. This doesn't leave much room for individualism, creativity or just some good old soul searching. And at the end of it all, most people end up regretting not spending more time on the things that actually matter to us as human beings. Love, connection and happiness. Most people end up wishing they had slowed down and opened their eyes to life. 

Realise if you're escaping too much in your work. Wake up and smell the roses. Block out time to relax, schedule in time for family and friends, start a new hobby, enjoy the little moments of life. 

Drugs

This is a common one and an issue that is continuing to rise, especially in cocaine use as well as many other drugs. The tougher life becomes the more people seek fulfilment in drugs to help them escape. Boredom and monotony also contribute to drug taking but it is a temporary fix that ends up causing more trouble than it solves.

Something recreational can easily escalate into a formed habit and a serious addiction. Soon someone doing it for 'fun' is doing it just to function. If life was happier and more simple I believe there would be less demand for drugs as a form of escapism. The more self control and self-awareness we hold, the less likely we turn to drugs to escape. 

Overeating

Over eating (unless it is physiological – such as hormonal or metabolic) is a form of escapism.When someone over eats they most definitely are going through some sort of emotional pain and thus temporarily healing this pain with the comfort of food.

The escape could be from sadness, frustration, anger, anxiety etc. Find out what the void is or what the underlying need is and you will start to reduce food being a convenient escape.

Become aware of the times you excessively eat, what was going through your mind right before the act. This could give you a sense of the issues you are trying to escape from.

Social Media

Who doesn’t use social media? Nearly all of us have at least one type of social media profile up and running. Social media can be a great way to connect with friends, family, promote your business or even just for a daily dose of motivation in the form of quotes of work out videos.

Like most things, where there is a positive, there is also a negative. Social media can be seen as a very common form of escapism these days. Just like getting yourself buried into your work, we can bury ourselves into other people’s lives via our mobile or computer screens. This can be so detrimental on our happiness as we become distracted, we procrastinate, we get jealous and we avoid the really important things in our lives that will benefit us long term and make us happy.

We avoid or delay working on ourselves and our own happiness because we get caught into the very easy trap of spending hours on social media. Clicking through profiles is easy, clicking the exit button is easy too. 

Just be aware of your social media use, write down your goals, realise what makes you happy, and start to do things in the day that you will with thank yourself for in a couple of years. I don’t think there is much benefit in the future for all those profiles, or pointless videos you watched.

There are many forms of escapism, some can be used with no harmful effects, yet anything in extremes could suggest a possible issue. Using a form of escapism in extreme stems from some inner lack or void. Often, this lack is determined by our level of self-worth and confidence.

We can learn to escape with positive techniques such as adopting mindfulness and meditating. Psychological therapies also go a long way in easing our urge to escape and can teach individuals to emotionally regulate and deal with stress in more constructive ways.

With love,

Jacqui Zdravkovski