Secret Gardens in My Mind: Escapism as a Result of Today’s Crushing Reality
By Carolina Dionísio
“I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind.”
According to the Oxford Dictionary, escapism is defined as “a way of avoiding an unpleasant or boring life, especially by thinking, reading, etc., about more exciting but impossible activities”.
And today, more than ever, anything is being turned into a form of escapism. From books, to movies, to games, songs, and paintings — society’s greatest quest is finding that one piece that will automatically erase all our worst fears and anxieties by turning them into someone else’s problem.
We cherish those few couple of minutes of well-deserved peace after a tiring day like our lives depend on it. We savor any and every piece of literature like it’s worthy of the Nobel Prize. We dissect soft-spoken songs and, somehow, always find a way to connect the lyrics to our deepest trauma in a pursuit of secret comfort. Every sweet treat tastes like returning home as a kid, tired from the park or the beach; every remotely sad movie character is exactly how we feel. We paint like Van Gogh, and we dream like a puppy who knows nothing but to run free in the grass at sunset.
And when it’s all over and we’re met with the crushing reality of our life, we can’t wait to return to the gardens in our mind. It’s beautiful and comforting, as well as fascinating and scary, how far the brain can go to shield us from unpleasant memories and feelings — sometimes, to even keep us alive.
Escapism can be a survival tool as it helps with mood repair and relaxation in a time of deep anxiety. But, though it is often seen as a healthy coping mechanism, there is such a thing as “too much escapism”.
In her article for Verywell Health, The Meaning of Escapism in Psychology, Dr. Ashley Olivine explores the negative impacts of long-term reliance. “Escapism has been linked to excessive gambling, gaming, internet use, and psychological distress”, she says, considering the method can also be used to ignore or suppress difficult emotions, instead of providing help in processing and feeling them. Furthermore, studies also point out signs of isolation, decreased productivity, difficulty in maintaining relationships and jobs, and even withdrawal, which means you can get addicted to escapism.
But is said addiction truly as bad as facing the constant decline of the world? When we put both sides on a balance, which one would weigh us down more?
Across Europe, far-right parties have skyrocketed to positions in leadership as the second most voted, or even the first. Ventura in Portugal, Höcke in Germany, Meloni in Italy, Le Pen in France, Abascal in Spain, and so many more. When added to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the genocide happening in Gaza, it’s a World War waiting to happen.
In the USA, women are being stripped of body autonomy, families are being broken apart, educational departments are being shut down, laws that sustain basic human rights are being overruled, and people have been imprisoned for weeks without proper justification.
Some countries in Latin America and Asia have lived under public dictatorships for decades, and there’s no forecast as to when the system will shift.
In Africa, violence is considered a plague, as more than 35 active armed conflicts are happening across all borders.
The Climate Crisis is a global issue that should not be overlooked. Organizations, such as the United Nations or Climate Action Network, are saying, “Climate is a risk multiplier that makes worse already existing challenges”. Yet, we’re selling a team of billionaire women splurging money and resources for a quick space trip as “women empowerment” and a “win for feminism”. The irony is suffocating.
“We’re in a vicious cycle,” says Tarik Abou-Chadi, an Associate Professor of European Politics at the University of Oxford.
And we truly are, because History always repeats itself, and we’re just letting them do it while killing the Earth in the process.
And it’s so sad that, although some of us fight, protest, sign petitions, and do our best to keep our side of the road clean, such constant efforts will never be enough against the “democratic” leaders who see themselves as kings of everything — even of what does not belong to them.
So I agree with Taylor: I hate this world, I hate what society has become, I hate the direction we’re all inevitably walking towards, and I dread the day we get there. So I’ll stick my nose in a fantasy book and dream about another reality in which the people have a chance at winning.
Where the tyrants are overthrown and there’s hope for a better and brighter day.
