Life in Balance: The Dangers of Trying to "Escape From Ourselves"

I'm aware that my perspective might be slightly skewed — as a counselor — but it's remarkable how many people in our world are the product of trauma and "difficult situations."

We all have our ways of dealing with our past, including turning a blind eye to the effects on our psyche and just ignoring old wounds.

Perhaps you know people who are in denial about the effect of their pasts on their present lives.

As I said, there are different ways of dealing with our issues, but one of the more "dangerous" choices is when people try to escape into artificial realities they have created for themselves... and they end up completely losing touch with the here and now.

Dissociation is typically a way for people to escape from almost unbearable anxieties, so they "create" entire alternate realities, in which they are sometimes stars, or very important, or even God-like, all as ways to overcome their own sense of insignificance.

In olden times, people used terms such as "madness," but what is it really, when someone immerses themselves — for example — into a world of their own making, in which they are a prince or princess of an empire on another planet?

And what sort of help can be offered? And is such help always needed?

An important thing to keep in mind is that such dissociations are coping mechanisms to deal with something darker, and — as such — they are just symptoms, not the actually issue to be addressed.

After all, if you were perfectly happy with your life, chances are you wouldn't feel compelled to reach for an alternate reality. Of course, there are exceptions.

Truthfully, we probably all do something like this, at some juncture where our lives are particularly hard. But we limit our exploits to dreaming along with a movie, or falling into an imaginary reverie while reading a book... and wishing ourselves far far away.

But we're generally aware that we still have a job to go to, and an electric bill to pay.

And that's often where we end up drawing the line between "taking a mental health break" and being mentally ill.

If your ability to actually function is in jeopardy, it's time to seek help, or to have those who love you seek help on your behalf. Because it can be difficult to discern what is "real" and what is imaginary.

Thanks for visiting, and Bright Blessings to all!

---

You are not alone! (Graphic is our own)

The White Light Express Mission Statement:

Since October 2001, the mission of the White Light Express has been to offer healing and transformation through focused positive intention, meditation and prayer. Right Thought is the first step toward Right Action and consciousness. We believe that “holding the vibration” is a profound task and our divine destiny.

We appreciate you following us and upvoting if you feel moved to do so — we also really appreciate comments and feedback! If you enjoyed this post and think others might enjoy reading it, please give it a re-steem! We love you already, because across all the myriad beliefs we hold, Love IS the answer!

In addition to our blog here on Steemit, you can also find us on the White Light Express web site, on our verified Facebook page and on our twitter feed.