LOL oh okay. Wouldn't people who like listening to music or going to art galleries or reading books be classed as Escapists too then? This is one of those things where someone is just trying to put a label on creative people, isn't it? Or it sounds that way to me.
Also, highly doubt that daydreaming or fantasising about stuff is going to give you a mental illness. Mental illness is not a choice, you don't choose to live in your fantasy world. You get sucked into it involuntarily. I also think you're referring to schizophrenia and psychosis. There is a vast difference. Daydreaming a lot and being a creative individual who prefers their own little world above that of their lives does not put you more at risk of mental illness. :frown:
Yes, I suppose art galleries and music concerts would also count. Not that all escapism is unhealthy. Some can be very therapeutic and uplifting.
When some people are having a low day, looking at a painting can lift their mood. Some of the most praised artists were also pretty troubled people, sometimes depressed or schizophrenic, who painted their pain or created worlds they preferred to the reality around them, and from their pain came beauty.
Same for musicians. Some of the best pieces of music have come from adverse situations where the artist has turned to music to help them as a form of escape or healing.
I know when I listen to music, sometimes I imagine images to go with it, a bit like a music video. I have also begun to do a little creative writing as part of my dissertation. But I know it's not real, I know the difference between the real world and whatever is in my head. I also don't shun the real world in favour of imaginary things.
I guess escapism can be a gateway to mental illness for some people. Not that every person who likes escapism, daydreams or is creative is automatically mentally ill. I think there have to be other existing psychological or lifestyle factors in play as well; not just a vivid imagination. There's nothing wrong with imagining.
But there are a lot of studies showing that some people who spend too long in their fantasy world are more prone to or already have existing types of mental illness, preferring that to real life, and then go on to shun real life interactions because the world in their head is so much better.
I guess that could also be a symptom of social anxiety though and the escapism is a way to cope with the perceived threat the real world represents. That or avoidant personality disorder, or maybe schizophrenia, as you have said. I also read that there is a strong link between depression and escapism, but I don't know what percentage of people that would account for.
Got to admit though, that would make sense. If a person was depressed, what better way to escape than to retreat into world of their own creation, a world they can control completely, a bit like a safety place to go when life it too much. Sometimes that kind of thing can save a persons life when the world around them is so bad.
My only worry would be getting the person out of that imaginary world if they have become too lost in it; like Harry Potter with that mirror. It shows them the ideal fantasy that they really want, then people waste their lives in that fantasy and forget there is a real world for living in. Good advice for a supposed children's book. :thumbsup:
But I can't deny that this creative writing thing is fun. I wish I'd tried it sooner. Getting to make these characters and working out all their quirks, getting to know them and giving them motivation is fun. :laugh:
It's good to note that the motto itself hits a paradox when you consider it's intention of being true. If nothing is true, and the phrase is itself is meant to be true, then is the phrase not true? To assume a Subjectivist interpretation would get rid of this paradox which directs the follower to the fact that the mantra isn't itself a truth but an instruction of being skeptical and aware of the secrecy around you.
That is very true...or is it false:laugh: Bad joke. Anyway, there is a paradox to that. It's like saying 'this statement is false' or something like that. But I guess in the case of nothing being true, a person would have to believe that statement, and so wouldn't it go back to the individual to make of that statement what the wished? Yet in believing it, the statement would also become false on the premise of nothing is true. It's like some kind of circular logic, no?
The title is an expression of how people "escape" certain aspects of their lives through creative means. So it's not as much a label as it is title.
Actually it does, if you fantasize enough times, your fantasies will become part of your daily lives. For example, if you have think about an attractive woman in heels enough times, you will find yourself more attracted to women with heels than women without them. This prinicple is, believe it or not, a training method used by athletes. It is the basis of shadow boxing, and a method is used where an athlete would envision himself doing his goal and would later find himself improving and reaching that goal. The reason behind this is that your body can't tell the difference between what's real or what's not, it just reacts to whatever the mind sees.
With that said, there have been times where a person's fantasies have been indistinguishable from his/her reality and they have a hard time telling them apart. So, yes, daydreaming too much can cause a mental illness
Yes, that was what I meant. People who are unable to tell reality from fantasy worlds. But I think there has to be some level of predisposition to other mental illnesses for anything seriously wrong to come of imagination.
I know of one person who would not date a guy because she had a crush on Edward Cullen, and wrote fantasy about her with him a lot. It really impacted on her ability to find a man because she was stuck on the fantasy. Then again, I guess it would be worse if she dated a man and he found out, then was devastated because he had to compete with an imaginary person in her head....
Or, like you say, guys who envision a particular woman, and then turn down other women who do not look like the fantasy lady, and so might miss out on chances to date other women who are just as nice.
Or, what about when a person has a very vivid dream, they wake, and they cannot tell the difference? Would that count as a mild form? Or people who have dreams they prefer to reality, so they take sleeping pills to spend more time in the dream world...and we all know what abuse of sleeping pills can lead to...That's when it becomes a danger to a person, when it impacts on the psychological, emotional and physical health of a person, especially when that person has other people relying on them.
I mean, I wouldn't want to set them up with a life of panic attacks, possible therapy and medication. The again, I guess some people don't know until it's too late.