Why You're Allowed To Want To Escape Real Life Sometimes

For a long time when I thought about escaping, I thought about going on an expensive holiday or just switching off for days on end and that was the only way to do it. But this year I've realised that escaping every so often even just for an hour or two can make a huge difference to your overall happiness. We all have responsibilities to meet and general life to attend to but stepping back every so often is ok and here is how I love to escape my very real day to day life that doesn't require an expensive break.

WHY?

Switching off is really hard, everything around us is constantly buzzing and there is this pressure to look like you're incredibly busy and always being productive. And I get it, we praise being busy over everything else it would seem and I think we're all busy enough without putting, even more, pressure on ourselves to put out this constant look of hustle. What sparked this post was the UK's decision for a snap election and the moment I saw it I knew that the world would become rife with opinion pieces and a lot of hysteria. After 2016 when we voted to leave the EU and Trump became the president of the USA myself and so many others felt their heart become incredibly heavy and the same thing is about to happen again. I'm a champion for being informed and there is nothing more important than researching the political party that you want to vote for and there are some incredible informative level-headed news articles out there. But last year I quickly learnt that when you're constantly reading things throughout the day that it's easy to become overwhelmed and exhausted. And wanting to escape that for an hour or so is OK, it doesn't mean you're ignorant or want to bury your head in the sand. It's so easy to consume so much information and when news sites are no longer reliable and fake news is incredibly problematic stepping back and really digesting what you're consuming is something I truly believe is beneficial.

We're so fortunate that we have the chance to vote and I highly suggest everyone take the time to register as there is a scary statistic that 18-24 years old don't and that's terrifying. We need to care about what is happening with the country that we live in and if you can use your voice then we should. I know this is a slight tangent and something very off-topic for my blog as I typically don't bring politics to what I'm talking about but as this snap election comes closer I know that weight will encroach on us more and more. So yes you can most definitely be informed, be passionate but you're allowed to want to step away from it so your mind can process everything that is going on and then you can be proactive.

REGISTER TO VOTE

THE INTERNET

Like most people, I know I use the internet to escape real life and even though I work online there are a few areas that are just simple pleasures for me. Instagram is the biggest one, just simply sat scrolling for 10 minutes or so through dog or cake videos is one of my favourite ways to unwind and switch off. And it's generally a place where everything is pretty upbeat, and that doesn't mean you can't be realistic on the platform but it steers away from a lot of the drama and you can completely bypass people being vicious towards one another. Even if social media is part of your job that never means you have to subject yourself to people being unkind to each other for no reason.

A GOOD DOCUMENTARY

Documentaries are something that I turn to when I want to unwind but I also want to learn about something. There are so many incredible documentaries online, as of right now I'm in a little bit of a crime phase and Netflix has a great selection and is regularly updated. Of course, whilst documentaries are amazing for learning something new it's vital to take everything with a pinch of salt because it usually comes from one side and often they can be a little biased as well as obviously having been created for entertainment purposes. Some of my favourites include;

Joesf Fritzel: Story Of A Monster
Interview With A Serial Killer
Lock Up: Maximum Security

Captive For 18 Years
Aileen
Hot Girls Wanted

YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW

Live tv shows like X Factor aren't really my bag but I'm a sucker for a good tv show and I'm always on the hunt for new ones to binge my way through. But something I absolutely adore doing especially when I feel the need to zone out for a little bit is watching a show that I already know and love. You will know if you're a regular binge watcher that there are certain tv shows that you can tune into at any point and feel good when watching them. They're like a downtime safety blanket and they're perfect.

AN EASY READ

Reading is a big downtime activity for me and probably the main thing I do when I want to switch off when I've been staring at a screen all day. It's also something that I love to do when I want to learn more about something but sometimes nothing can quite beat an easy read. I like to switch between a classic or informative book to what would most would call chick lit or even YA. And there is a lot of snobbery around reading books that are quite simple but what's really wrong with that? If you're reading to escape the real world shouldn't it be something you enjoy rather than causing you more emotional distress?