What is escapism and how does it show during the war?

Escapism is a form of psychological protection when a person escapes reality into fictional worlds. The desire to escape can arise after a day's work, for example, by reading a book or watching a movie to immerse yourself in a different world for a while. It's healthy escapism. 

Escapism can be a reaction to constant stress or terrible events. Then escaping to another world replaces the real one. Sometimes a person stops distinguishing them or stays in the fictional for so long that the spheres of his or her life are destroyed. The need to flee usually arises in childhood, and later is repeated so as not to resolve a conflict situation. 

"A person received such an experience when parents fled from reality to work or everyday life. In adulthood, a person has the skill to flee from solving the situation, and understanding, resources, knowledge, energy to solve it," says the psychotherapist of positive psychotherapy Svitlana Kika.

Dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter, is responsible for pleasure fantasies. It's called the Happiness Hormone. Dopamine is released when a person uses the usual way of escapism. 

People who lived in an atmosphere of constant danger as a child are prone to escapism. For example, when parents argued, and the child fled into the world of fairy tales, not being able to change the situation. Children who have been physically abused or criticized are more prone to escapism.

There are various ways to escape from the real world: excessively watching movies, playing computer games, and hanging on the Internet. However, the escape can be work, volunteering, creativity, sports or travel.

"The difficulty is that sometimes we socially approve of escapism, for example, workaholism. It is difficult to track that something is wrong, on the contrary, everything may seem normal. But, if the balance is heavily shifted into one sphere, then most likely, there are problems in other areas that we avoid," says Natalia Ursu, a psychotherapist at the Voices of Children Foundation.

Since February 24, some Ukrainians have started to use the news as a method of escapism: scrolling continuously, reading all possible Telegram channels and news websites so as not to miss any detail.

"Endless browsing information channels occurs because of the fear of losing control of the situation. It feels as if another news item and I know all the information. And it is also an escape from reality because of the reluctance to hear the bad news. It makes some people go to the mountains or the monastery. This is also a kind of escapism, so as not to meet reality", — says PhD in Psychology, Professor of General and Clinical Psychology of the Vasyl Stefanyk Prykarpattia National University Myroslava Hasiuk.

According to Hasiuk, escapism is a way to protect oneself from reality, which a person uses because of the fear that they are not coping with something. 

"Escapism is a good thing as self-care. We need to exhale periodically, because mental resources may run out. If there is a threat, the body begins to mobilize and responds to stress. In this way, it spends limited resources. Therefore, avoiding the horrors of reality is a way to help oneself recuperate and rest. Escapism becomes dangerous when it interferes with life and affects its quality," adds Natalia Ursu.

Having experienced war, people have mechanisms of psychological protection strengthened. So the habit of flowing into another world remains but may occur more often due to new circumstances. For example, many Ukrainians have moved abroad, where they need to learn a new language, find a job, meet people, and instead, they watch the news, and movies, or scroll on social media.

Role-playing video games are also particularly popular, especially among teenagers. In the virtual world, it's easy to manage a character's life and feel like a hero.

To cope with excessive escapism, it is worth realizing the problem.

“A psychologist works when there is demand. That is, when a person understands what is wrong and wants to change it, they can do it on their own. And if it does not work, one can ask for help from a psychologist or psychotherapist. Many organizations now assist on a volunteer basis. If there is no desire, doing good forcibly is unlikely," says Svitlana Kika.

To flee into the fictional world less, you need to enjoy yourself in real life and capture moments. 

"It's worth remembering what made you happy before the war. If it is running, go running, if it is sports, go to the gym, if it is reading books, read. And ask yourself whether this activity is an escape that harms or lets you rest from the news," concludes Myroslava Hasiuk.