The need to escape is powerful for individuals who are other-dependent and don’t feel good about themselves. They often feel as though their world is falling apart or are simply waiting for something to go wrong.
This need is equally as powerful for those who feel that life hasn’t turned out the way it was supposed to. It is just as great for those who feel even a little bit bad from time to time. People looking for escape become extremely skilled at creating ways to avoid feeling bad. As a result, people seeking distractions are everywhere. They rely upon something or someone outside of themselves to give them a break from life—even if just for a little while.
To this end, our society is most accommodating and full of distractions. These distractions provide us with a variety of ways to escape from our own lives. These distractions can even create an illusion of being fun. Because so many of these distractions create the illusion of having fun, many individuals believe they have escaped feeling bad, no matter how short-lived.
Some even have the illusion that they are getting relief from the pressures they put upon themselves to be and do better, from the stress of responsibility, from their worry about what others think about them, from real or imagined trauma, and even from their unhappiness because they aren’t feeling quite so bad.
Unfortunately, the distractions can be so powerful and seductive that they might lead even the most unlikely person to participate in very extreme behaviors to escape their perceived painful life.
What poor and perhaps self-destructive choices have you made to escape feeling bad? Make a list.
