Escapism.

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I'm not sure what I'd do without books. My anxiety level is pretty high today and I honestly don't know what I'd do without this kind of escapism. Sometimes I even wonder if reading is a bit of a "special interest" of mine (I've been told I'm one of those people with ASD who, strangely enough, don't really have a "special interest"). I don't know. All I know is that I love books. This might sound weird but they're sort of my friends. They're better friends than most people I know.

How do you "escape" when things are tough? How do you distract yourself from all the thoughts on repeat in your brain? Do you read? What kind of books do you like?

Hi Rebbieh,
I have missed you. I love to read. I love many different types of books. I love technical books on ski technique, I love Harry Potter and Dracula and kids books and all sorts of different books except those cheesy sex novels like harlequin romances. I can't stand those, it's like reading porn. But I can really escape in a book or an audio book. I love audio books because my husband and I like listening to them together. I will tell you one book that was absolute torture to read though, that was Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice. I read it because everyone was telling me it was one of their favorite books so I decided to give it a go. My goodness, it was the worst torture to read. My parents could have used it as a punishment for me and it would have been very effective. I can't understand how anyone at all could like this book. One of the members here put it best when we talked about it last year. The person said it made him/her want to gauge his/her eyes out with a spoon.

But anyway, I also love to escape with music that I love, I love music like Loreena Mckennitt, Il Divo, Kathleen Battle, Cecilia Bartoli, some classical type music, I love music that is very calming and relaxing. I don't like music that is too fast like rap or that has a strong bass unless it is Celtic or Native American drums.

I also love to escape in sports like skiing and biking and hiking in the park and kayaking and skating. And I love spending time in nature and with animals like horses and even taxidermy at the nature center. I also love to escape by watching movies or researching things I am interested in. Right now I am watching documentaries on the Titanic. I also love to study and research holistic wellness and use that as an escape as well.

Every person indulges in a form of escapism.

At least your form of escapism leads to an increase in knowledge, as well as pleasure

At least you don't depend upon alcohol or drugs for your escapist jaunts.

Escapism only makes tough things tougher. Eventually, you drown in them.

I love reading too. It's like being transported into another world. But having music--wordless music, usually--makes it even better. I like love stories. I like learning about other people, ways of life. This year, I've been reading stories like "Luckiest Girl Alive", and "Girl on the Train". Basically books featuring unlikable and/or unreliable heroines. I've been reading a book my best friend loaned called 3 am by Nick Pirog. It's really good so far.
Movies are better as far as escapism goes. You literally see everything that is happening. And you wonder what it would be like to be in that world. You do that with books too but in a different way.

My cat helps me relieve stress. Having her around somehow makes me feel more calm.

The Sims 3 is a great destressor. I play it, and calm down almost immediately.

Not for me. I need the breaks from the tough stuff. Without the breaks I would not be able to cope. I would drown without the breaks. The breaks give me the ability to recharge a little bit.

Music is my escape. And a very nessesary one some days.
Most days.
Usually at the end of the day I tune out and tune in.

With the headphones on and a few chosen songs I can relax and stop the noise of anxiety. As to the type of music, it can be almost any genre. I choose based on how my brain is running that day. Sometimes I need an uplift, sometimes a chill, sometimes sleep.

I grew up loving rock. When the rock became an overly commercial industry, indie music came as a replacement for me. It was then that I understood that variety could bring along some fascinating music. Grunge was amazing.

About that time in my life, I became consciously aware I was listening in order to escape. I am not one to cover up or ignore problems, but it made dealing so much easier. For me, the escape is not one where I 'hide' from the world, but an escape where I can recoup, rebuild, and come back the next day stronger. I literally feel my shoulders relax the tension. If it is a sleepless night, that can be solved with one good choice. I can understand that reading could be the same... just for me, the music gets pumped straight to my brain in a more efficient way.

When I joined WP, I was exposed to a few genre that I always thought I would never like. Broadly termed, it is electronica (which is has evolved into so many other things), but specifically progressive trance and chill out music. I am grateful to one person on this site who was playing this stuff and unknowingly introduced me to the best music I have ever known.

As I explored, I found certain 'sounds' within those types that fit me best. This differed from a lifetime of being led to types of music that were the norm...being sort of told stuff "you should be liking". And it doesn't have to be angsty, unless that is what I feel like on certain days.

Those songs can relax me like a switch being turned off...or on. The drama of this real world is brought into a controllable mass for me to be able to deal with. It reminds me of what is important.

Is escape a bad thing?
For me, no.

Why would escapism be a bad thing? I mean, I can understand that escapism in the form of drugs etc. is bad, but why would reading, listening to music, watching movies (or something else that's harmless) be bad?

I agree with skibum (by the way, skibum, how are you?). I'm seeing a psychologist so I guess the goal is to eventually feel like I don't need to escape my life at all but right now I don't think I'd be able to cope without breaks. I'm often anxious, stressed out, overwhelmed and depressed and books really help taking my mind off that sometimes. Of course it doesn't always work but I'd probably be doing worse without them.

I agree with this. If I had not been able to take refuge in books, games and special interests I would not have been able to push through life as far as I have. Just pushing without playing is a self destructive drain.

Astronomy was wonderful refuge because cosmological timescales and stellar evolutionary time scales put human social and cultural issues in a comforting perspective, when you are kid who is alienated from those things.

So do I. Escapism helps me deal with this crazy world.

Escapism that enriches our lives is very positive and necessary. Some of the greatest works of art and scientific discovery have been produced by people 'escaping' from the outside world. It has to be said that some of this, such as Coleridge's poem 'Kubla Khan', was done under the influence of drugs.

I have read a great deal in my life, but not so much over the last ten years. Had to read Austen for my degree and HATED it, in fact at one point started to wear through the wallpaper where I threw Austen novel after Austen novel in disgust at this infuriating (though technically brilliant) writer.

A novel or piece has to create pictures in my mind for me to groove on it, so Joseph Conrad used to be my favourite reading, as the pictures in my mind created by his writing can be very vivid.

Later on became very interested in poetry, which was harder work but very worthwhile - less eyestrain, bigger meaning, good pictures. Novels really are a bit of a side show compared to poetry.

You do hold a little world in your hand if you have found a good book.

I wish I understood what that's like. My ability to imagine things is most likely below average. I have a very hard time creating pictures in my mind so when I read books I don't really "see" images or anything (I don't even really picture the appearance of the characters). Instead I read the words, process them and get immersed in the text. I really like words.



Yes, indeed.

I don't like reading but I'm dyslexic. My escapism is getting on computer & listening to music while browsing this forum; sometimes posting about the issue helps.

I focus on my games and my characters as a way to escape stressful times and the like. I also heavily rely on "childish" things to get away, music also helps.
My dad finds it admirable that I'm able to "cope" with things in contrast to my sisters, but it's because I get so invested in what I like that I can ignore everything else.

I escape to my imaginary world usually. Of course this isn't always possible, so knitting while watching tv also helps.