Fuck everyone who says that escapism is bad when it comes to coping with lifelong impairments. Boo on you. 🍅🍅🍅
What makes escapism "bad" to most therapists and psychologists is the fact that it's an avoidant habit. That you're "ignoring your problems and refusing to fix them, instead just hoping they get fixed for you."
You can't fix a problem that has no one cause or cure. All we CAN really do while managing symptoms is hope that one day, a miracle comes, and we either go into full remission, or the problem magically goes away.
Even on good days, we still can't do the things we used to be able to do, or could have done if we weren't sick. So we settle for what we CAN do, and sometimes, that is escapism.
Sometimes, it's playing a videogame that makes you remember being outside and playing in the sun. Sometimes, it's collecting things that smell and taste like good memories. Sometimes, it's relying on nostalgia and living through it. Sometimes, it's spending hours listening to music that reminds you of old times while you look through old photos. Sometimes, it's distancing yourself from your social life for a few days because that social life is a reminder of everything that you can't do anymore. Sometimes, it's spending a lot of money on things that give you a small dopamine rush. Sometimes, it's daydreaming, roleplaying, or reading - imagining yourself with a completely different life where you aren't sick.
That may be "escapism," but it is not the same as people who have very fixable problems and run from them. What we do is called coping.
Our problem isn't fixable. We don't have another option. Keep your armchair psychology to yourself.
