2 key reasons why people run away from reality

Escaping from the realities of life: a mental disorder or a way to overcome difficulties?

Surely you think that illusions and fantasies are largely the lot of children. Yes, children really often immerse themselves in the world of their dreams, losing touch with the real world.

But it’s not only children who are prone to this behavior. Very often adults, and even very successful people, behave like children. Outwardly, they do not stand out from society in any way, but what happens on the edge of their subconscious often does not correspond to reality.

Statistics say that every third person tends to run away from reality and spend part of their time in the fictional world of illusions and fantasies.

It turns out that such escape has a scientific designation, which is called escapism.

Escapism is a term that came to us from abroad, which is widely used in pedagogy, psychology and even psychiatry. It means a person’s desire to “leave” the real world, to escape from reality and plunge into his illusory world.

Despite the fact that escapism is used in psychiatry and psychology, this term has nothing to do with the state of mental disorder. It is not used to refer to a disease.

But it is used quite often as a synonym for escape from reality.

Please note: escapism and escapism are very similar concepts, but there are slight differences between them. Escape from reality assumes that the phenomenon is short-term in nature, and escapism does not exclude that the “escape” from reality will take place over a long period of time. But since it is not easy to define a period of escapism, the term escapism is often applied to all cases.

So what is escapism if not a psychological or mental disorder?

I think you know that every person has certain self-defense mechanisms. In other words, barriers that help resist the blows of fate and protect the nervous system.

So escapism or escape from reality is also a kind of self-preservation mechanism that turns on when it becomes difficult for a person to accept the world around him.

Let's say a person works a lot, rests little and rarely enjoys life. His nervous system is exhausted, from which he strives to find an outlet for himself - a fictional world in which he can escape from what is happening.

In this case, a person’s escapism manifests itself as a completely adequate reaction to an external stimulus that worries him.

This suggests that escaping reality is not a frightening fact at all, it is just a way to “unload” one’s own nervous system.

How to strengthen the nervous system so as not to get nervous over trifles?

Reasons for avoiding reality

A person’s life is built on two foundations: reality with the thesis “here and now” and dreams. The latter make everyday life bright, unusual, and colorful. Facing challenges and challenges every day does not make everyone stronger. Someone can't cope . People are divided into those who, when faced with an obstacle:

• gathers his “will into a fist” and begins to act;
• makes some attempts, but then gives up or asks for help;
• does not take any action, “gives up” and goes into the unreal world of illusions.

Dreams are good when they come true, gain ground and become a reality. In other cases, they will not save you from adversity.

You should not think that illusions are characteristic only of weak people. It happens that a strong person at some point feels a loss of strength, a lack of desire to do something, fight something, go somewhere. And if at this moment you replace actions with peace and dreams, then even a strong person can break down and go forever into the world of unreality.

In order to fully reflect the theme of the dangers of a break from reality in an essay, it is necessary to consider several classic works of Russian literature in turn. A good example is the following stories and stories:

1. N.V. Gogol “Nevsky Prospekt”. Escape from reality is considered using the example of the artist Peskarev. He fell in love with a girl he accidentally met, who turned out to be a “worker” of a brothel. The young man begins to take opium and thinks that he is obliged to save her. But the girl laughs at the stupid lover. Peskarev commits suicide.
2. A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”. Another example of escaping reality through suicide is Katerina, the main character of the play. She is no longer able to bear the world created by her mother-in-law and sees no way out. After all, sometimes a person gives up not only because of his own weakness, but also because of insurmountable circumstances.
3. A.P. Chekhov “Gooseberry”. And this is an example of how dangerous it is to break away from reality, go into your dream, fulfill it and lose the meaning of life. The main character desperately strives to get rich with only one goal - to purchase an estate and plant a garden with fragrant gooseberry bushes. He subordinated his entire life to austerity, did not start a family, did not have children, and his friends left him. And now the cherished dream has come true. There is nothing more to strive for. The hero turns into a lazy man in the street.
4. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The Wise Minnow.” In this case, the main character is a collective image. There are many such people. They run away from reality, huddled in their own little world or, as psychologists say, “comfort zone.” At the same time, a person considers himself careful, prudent, and his behavior is the only reasonable one. The wise gudgeon really lived a long, calm, boring and aimless life, without love, beauty, joy, without the intoxicating feeling of victory and freedom. A long life turned out to be boring and useless to anyone. No one even cares how he died.

You can talk about cruelty for a long time and try to escape from reality, or you can learn from other people’s life experiences or from good books, and try to create a world that is suitable for yourself.

Maxim Gorky "At the Bottom"

Escaping reality is not limited to exalted young people. The lower strata of society choose their own way to avoid the struggle for life. In Gorky’s socio-philosophical drama “At the Lower Depths”, an escape from reality is made by degenerate, poor people (drunkards, thieves, ladies of “easy virtue”, etc.). And each of them finds its own way:

1. A heavy drinker who has long since lost his own name, Actor. A little-in-demand stage attendant, a man who has long since turned into an alcoholic goes to the streets to make his dream come true. He wants to go to a hospital and get rid of his addiction. But illusions collide with reality. There is no clinic. The actor commits suicide.
2. Prostitute Nastya. She rarely “emerges” from her fantasies and tells others about the unearthly love of the French student for her. She tells it and is the only one who believes it. Beautiful love in dreams turns out to be corrupt in life.
3. Criminal Vaska Ash. He fell in love with Natasha, dreams of quitting his craft, leaving for Siberia, starting an honest life. But there is no point in simply dreaming. Ash becomes an accidental killer and ends up in prison. Natasha doesn't believe it and refuses him.
4. Mechanic, former “working man” Kleshch. The main dream is to escape from the shelter, get rid of poverty, rise. In his illusions, he believes that only his sick wife is hindering him, that everything would be different if she were gone. And now the wife dies, and the situation only gets worse. After selling the tools, Klesh becomes unemployed. He was no longer destined to get out of poverty and leave the “possible shelter”.

There are several more characters: Bubnov, Satin, Baron. They understand that creating illusions in their position is dangerous, because reality is cruel. And it is the fate of Nastya, Ash, Actor and Mite that once again convinces them of this. These heroes do not dream, do not act, do not try to change life, to make it better.

Goncharov "Oblomov"

Not only weak people, unable to change anything, go into the world of dreams and daydreams. When working on the essay “What is Escape from Reality,” Oblomov from the novel of the same name by I. A. Goncharov will be a good example .

For the main character of the work, all changes in life occur exclusively in his head. He is always planning something, dreams of traveling abroad and establishing relations with Olga Ilyinskaya, and longs to improve matters on the estate. But grandiose ideas are not destined to come true. Oblomov practically never gets up from the couch.

But he doesn’t need to. His friend deals with complicated financial matters and tries to arrange Ivan Ilyich’s personal life. And Zakhar copes with numerous everyday difficulties. Oblomov can continue to live without leaving the couch.

On the other hand, the hero was brought up in idleness and laziness. He is accustomed to going with the flow, doing nothing, and at the same time imagining something great and grandiose, but unfortunately, unreal.

The scary thing is that Oblomov is not a fictional character, but a fairly common character in everyday life. Such useless dreamers are found at every step. In the book, Olga asks Oblomov: “Why did everything die?... You are kind, smart, gentle, and noble... and... you are dying! What ruined you? He whispered in response: “Oblomovism!” It is this word that has become a household word to denote apathy, laziness, life in routine and personal stagnation.

Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment"

Escape to the illusory world can be a way of psychological protection. This is what happens to Katerina Ivanovna Marmeladova from the novel “Crime and Punishment” by F. M. Dostoevsky. This is one of the most touching heroines of the writer.

This is a young woman who in her youth had all the prerequisites for a happy life, the daughter of a lieutenant colonel from a noble family, educated, smart, beautiful. She unsuccessfully marries for the first time to a poor infantry officer and gambler. After his death, she is left in poverty and with 3 children. For the second time, her husband is a heavy drinker and an equally poor official, Marmeladov, a widower, 15 years older than her.

Reality for a woman is scary and hopeless. The husband drinks everything away, and after his death she is left alone with 4 children. Now the only hope lies in the meager earnings of Sonechka’s stepdaughter. And Katerina Ivanovna begins to leave the difficult reality into the world of dreams and dreams of the past. To where she shone at the governor's ball, to where she was the beloved daughter of wealthy parents, to where she received a gold medal for studying at a prestigious noble institute.

Marmeladova is looking for an answer to the question: why and when everything went wrong. Life turns out tragically for a woman. Physical and psychological exhaustion leads to consumption. At her husband's funeral, the first signs of madness begin to appear in her. But fate does not allow the heroine to completely go into the world of dreams. Katerina Ivanovna is dying.

How escapism manifests itself: types and forms

A person can escape from reality in different ways: some withdraw into themselves, while others, on the contrary, try to be distracted by constantly being in a noisy society.

Depending on how escapism manifests itself in a person, several types of escapism are distinguished.

As for the forms of manifestation of escapism, they can be different. Most often, escape from reality manifests itself in the following:

• Watching movies, TV series.
• Listening to music.
• “Wasting time” on social networks.
• Passion for computer games.
• Shopaholism (the desire to bring more trash into the house).
• Frequent fantasies about the impossible.
• Sportsmanship.
• Workaholism.
• Passion for gambling.
• Tendency to extreme types of pastime.
• Drug use.
• Alcohol abuse.
• Withdrawal "into oneself."

Given the fact that escapism does not pose a direct threat to life, some of its manifestations have the opposite effect.

If dancing, sports or reading books are even useful, then drinking alcohol and drugs is life-threatening.

That is why it is important to identify the reasons for the appearance of escapism in a person’s life in order to be able to help him get out of this state.

Options for the development of events: the consequences of escapism

Obviously, those people who run away from reality in order to experience more positive emotions or see other colors of life are not harming themselves in any way.
If only, of course, a person is aware of where real life ends and where fantasy begins. If a person loses this line and becomes more and more immersed in the illusory world, then after some time an absolute denial of reality awaits him. A person loses his mind and understanding of real time, completely goes into the world of desires, and not real events.

Later, such an attitude towards the world is fraught with the onset of protracted depression, which arises due to the fact that a person suddenly realizes that he lived as if in a dream, and in front of him is a real, sometimes harsh and unfair life.

It is necessary to get out of depression in such a situation, otherwise other, much more dire consequences are possible. Unfortunately, people who have been depressed for a long time often commit suicide.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to identify the cause of escapism in advance.

And if you can’t do this on your own, then it is much better to turn to a specialist - a psychotherapist who will help in solving this difficult situation.

A real-life example of when escapism needs to be treated.

I’ll tell you an example when escapism poses a real threat to a person. For example, I have never suffered from an increased desire to hide from reality. The only time I am prone to escapism is when my work schedule is too busy, when I am very mentally exhausted and need to “free up” space in my own head. Then I resort to my favorite pastime - watching TV series with a cup of fragrant tea and cookies.

It is absolutely obvious that escapism in this form does not bring anything negative, but on the contrary, it contributes to a kind of relaxation of the nervous system from life’s troubles.

But here’s another example: one of my friends grew up in a not very prosperous family. Her parents drank, and therefore, as she grew older, she began to avoid men and relationships with them in every possible way. And at one point she simply turned into a hermit who lives completely alone. Her problem was that she was afraid that her future husband would turn out to be an alcoholic and would torture both her and their future children.

In short, her childhood trauma developed into chronic escapism, which step by step led her into depression. A psychologist helped her cope with this situation. Now she is a happy wife and mother of two charming children.

Virtues of the Dream World

Professional psychologists do not advise classifying all dreamers as “Oblomovs,” “marmalades,” “minnows,” and others. The presence of dreams does not indicate deviation; on the contrary, without them progress and movement forward are impossible .

But when illusoryness becomes a daily reality and a person refuses to return to everyday life, this is where the help of a specialist is needed.

And yet it is imagination that allows you to take a break from the too fast flow of life. Desires and plans are necessary if they lead to problem solving and implementation. Daydreaming is not a disease or personality disorder. All great people, scientists and even politicians dreamed, but, unlike desperate dreamers, they brought everything into reality.

Escapism: pros and cons

Despite the fact that frequent escapes from reality are dangerous for a person, let's find out what is more in them - good or bad?

Both the strengths and weaknesses of escapism have their own nuances. Therefore, here we can draw a simple conclusion: everything is good in moderation.

Escapism, as a way to escape and take a break from routine, is a good option only if it does not become chronic.

What is escapism? And how does it manifest itself?

Quotes for an essay on the Unified State Exam on the topic Dream and reality

Quotes for the final essay in the direction “Dream and Reality”

1. Always beware of building castles in the air, because although these buildings are the easiest to build, they are the hardest to destroy - Otto von Bismarck.
2. Blessed is he who sometimes lives in the future; Blessed is he who lives in a dream - Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev.
3. There is a side to a dream that is better than reality; in reality there is a better side than the dream. Complete happiness would be a combination of both. (Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy).
4. Everyone dreams, but not in the same way. Those who dream at night in the dusty attics of their minds wake in the day and find that it was all in vain; but those who dream during the day are dangerous people, for they can live their dream with open eyes, making it come true. — From the book “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” — Thomas Edward Lawrence.
5. Reality is like the weather - no one can change it except itself - Feng Zicai, “Flight of the Soul.”
6. We all dream of some magical rose garden that lies beyond the horizon, instead of enjoying the roses that bloom right outside our window. (Dale Carnegie) Dreams compare favorably with reality by the luxury of non-fulfillment. G. E. Malkin.
7. For a young man, the moon is a promise of all the great things that await him ahead, but for an old man it is a sign that what was promised has not been fulfilled, a reminder of everything that has not come true and has turned to dust. (Hjalmar Söderberg).
8. All romantic dreams crumbled into dust when they came into contact with reality, cold and loneliness. Erich Maria Remarque. Life on loan.

Not many people have written about reality, but the great Einstein noted: Your fantasy is a harbinger of the life that becomes reality. Here the author also advises moving from dreams to actions.

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