Written by Ankita Ganguly
Edited by Ananya Desai
Illustrated by Saranya Bhakuni
Trigger Warning: Mentions of Anxiety, drug use and unhealthy Coping Mechanisms.
With time, everyone is returning to their regular offline schedules, the work pressure and responsibilities are hitting harder after being less over the last two years. There are now deadlines that have to be met and work quality has to be top notch as there are no more connectivity issues that can act as a shield between one and the institution. The feeling of everything happening together can feel quite overwhelming for office workers returning to their regular schedules or students stepping into a new academic setting. The urge to take a break from everything to give oneself time is quite overpowering but we do not have time to do so.
The pandemic has had a huge impact on most of our mental health. Many people did experience stress, fear, anxiety, loneliness etc. there were relationships that were lost, some very unexpected but most of us did experience these emotions that for some might have escalated into issues. These emotions are quite hard to deal with and therefore there can be few coping mechanisms that people turn to.
For a person going through these emotions, escaping it or putting those issues in a backseat would provide them with relief. These feelings and thoughts are much harder to deal with and face and therefore trying to ignore them seems like a very appealing option. This is how escapism ties in. By definition escapism is trying to seek comfort in distraction and finding relief from unpleasant realities and therefore can be considered as coping. Sometimes escapism might occur without knowing either, overloading yourself with work or college related events and thoughts also sometimes provide an escape from one’s thoughts. There are many ways one tends to escape from their reality, some could be by reading books, listening to music, exercising, meditating, dancing, etc.
However, not all these coping mechanisms are very healthy. Sometimes the tendency of escaping one's problems might lead to them turning to alcohol or drug use, which could cause more problems in the future. The tendency of escapism is quite addictive. To live those moments free from your thoughts and anxieties is quite an addictive feeling and the thought of getting back to the routine and going forward with it makes it difficult to return to one’s routine life.
However, escapism can hurt one’s mental health as it can lead to feelings of guilt and regret. This is tied to the values that society has ingrained in our minds, that is if we do not get the material rewards of our efforts, we aren’t being productive enough. This cycle of wanting to do something productive all the time without taking out some time for yourselves, is known as hustle culture. This phenomenon leads to one not being able to take a break leads to a lot of mental health issues like anxiety, sleep disturbances, etc. and at times can even impact one’s physical health. This can lead to negative or destructive thoughts to rise in oneself. However a very interesting part is how hustle culture can also be used as a form of escapism.
Escapism seems like a great option to a person looking for an outlet but a temporary escape, but one has to understand that it does not in any way solve their problems. Escapism only provides a cloud or a blurry sheet in front of the problems, which eventually has to be addressed. Escapism however cannot be used as a long term solution. Eventually when thes sheet comes off, or the blurry cloud disappears, all the problems come crashing down onto the person, which can be quite overwhelming for one.
Escapism cannot be classified and put into a box saying that it is bad or good, but it is safe to say that escapism in copious amounts can be extremely unhealthy for a person.
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