Escapism & Stress Management
Apparently they say (who are ‘they’ anyway?!?!), that escapism is bad. So I looked it up, and started fantasizing 😉 ok, I started thinking about cool connections between stress management and escaping reality.
What I found, yet again, is that escapism is perfectly alright as long as it is done in moderation (like everything in life) and it doesn’t just slip into pure avoidance. Your brain needs a break from school work, from guilt, from, well, thinking heavily at all. So infuse a little healthy escapism into your day and become more stress resilient. My post today will be focused around healthy, learning based, entertainment escapism that gives your brain a shift break.
Just so I don’t lead you down a path of no return, Patrick Allan of Lifehacker has put together a pretty great list of suggestions to help you to “Snap Back to Reality“if you fall off the motivation wagon.
Before engaging in my Stress Film Festival, just to be safe, consider the following:
- Enforce the “Real Life-Right Now” Rule
- Redefine What It Means to Escape
- Identify What You’re Trying to Avoid (and Why)
- Aim for Smaller Doses of Escapism
- “Escape” to the World You’re Already In
Exploit “Bad” Habits to Your Advantage
*bad is a subjective word, I suggest defining “bad” lightly and compassionately 😉
When stress hits, we tend to procrastinate to avoid feeling overwhelmed and replace with escapism. It could then lead to you feeling crappy about yourself because you defined “avoid” as a bad thing, and then escapism becomes avoidance. Vicious cycle. Sometimes you just need to let your brain rest so that it works b
etter and all the stuff you need to remember when you are studying , will then increasingly be tucked away nicely in your long term memory. Tired brains do not work well (I know! Obvious).
So, since you are escaping, how about participate in my film festival and watch a series curated videos that help you manage your stress by addressing all my suggested FIVE areas of stress resilience building.
Sit down, take a load off, ESCAPE for a while and watch some videos that will help you manage your stress better and start you on the path to being a stress resilient person. Come on, there is no guilt in this escapism, you are learning!
Stress 101: Stress Knowledge
Stay Calm When You Know You Will Be Stressed
*I love this term “Prospective Hindsight”! It is all about hacking your brain and figuring out your behaviour patterns and making your brain/personality work FOR you.
Hindsight: Moving forward successfully in your life with lessons from your past behaviour.
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is one heck of a key component to becoming stress resilient. Know what stresses you out, how it does, why it does and what works for you,is the basis for mindfully deciding how you will go about your life creating the best possible life for yourself.
Receptive Mental State
If you don’t get enough sleep, there is no amount of mindfulness, self-awareness and coping strategies that will work because your mind will just go offline and leave you with nothing but an unfocused foggy view.
How to Get to Bed on Time and Stop Losing Sleep
*More information supporting this video: CLICK HERE
PodCast: The Science Behind Getting Better Sleep
Attitude
Mindset Shift: Seeing Stress Differently…as a BFF!
Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.
Coping Skills
5 Simple Tips to Help You DE-STRESS
*This is a wonderful little reminder of what works in managing stress.
If were left thinking, yeah, great, but what if I have no idea HOW to think positively!!! Well, if you are wanting to dig in’ a wee bit deeper psychologically…
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Start With Learning a Bit More About Thought Management
Check out a few of my past posts for more information
on how to apply CBT strategies in your life:
Is Anxiety Stopping You from Getting Stuff Done?
Anxiety, I Just Don’t Have Time For You!
On your mark, get set, ESCAPE! for stress resilience building 😉
Dr. Heather Drummond, C.Psych.
Psychologist * Passionate Advocate for Flourishing * A Human Muddling Through
#EmbraceThisMessyLife