Wanna know about a few things I do to escape reality?

I like to read and get totally lost in books.

I enjoy watching hockey to unwind.

And, like a lot of folks, movies and TV shows are a good way to get away from it all for a little while.

What do you do to escape reality?

Here’s what folks had to say on AskReddit.

1. Gaming.

“When my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer I hid in video games, notably World of Warcraft. It was the only thing that kept me sane.

I mean, I still worked and interacted with people and took her to appointments and spent time with my dad, but when I found myself alone with my thoughts I would log into the game and spend hours there.

The beautiful thing about video games is that the problems have solutions. You can generally solve every dilemma and even get a reward. That’s not the case in real life.”

2. I like this.

“I walk my dog early in the morning.

We pretend we are navigating an apocalyptic landscape in the search for treats.”

3. Keep going.

“Run, and not in some fitness guru way where “it really brings me into a meditative headspace”

When I’m running I just can’t think about anything but running.”

4. The good stuff.

“Exercise and if I have more time go for a longer hike and enjoy nature.

I don’t care how old I am I will always enjoy walking around forest, fallen leaves up to your knees, kicking them around, listening to rustling.

And walking on freshly fallen snow.”

5. Late at night…

“Late at night, I take my bike and ride to my old elementary school that’s now a public park. I sit down on the same bench I’ve always sat at, and I start recording.

I’ve found that talking my problems out, or talking about anything, just helps me to escape. Some of those audio logs I’ve listened to countless times. I catch myself thinking “wow, I actually said that.”

Maybe someday I’ll post them online, or preserve them as a memento to the times I’ve lived through.

I can tell you right now, if I never started making those logs I wouldn’t be half the person I am now.”

6. Green thumb.

“Gardening.

Saved me from depression. No meds ever worked.”

7. Fantasy world.

“I create fantasy worlds and build them up, complete with languages, culture, people, history, etc.

It’s fun.”

8. Cool.

“I am a flight simulator hobbyist, and I escape by delving into the simulator.

For over 10 years now, when life gets to me, I make an escape by perfecting my flight sim world, not much unlike a model train enthusiast creates dioramas in their basement.

Aircraft modelling, sound engineering, environment textures such as the sky, ground, water, and trees, buildings, airport details, there’s always something to tweak and work on and improve to make actually using the simulator for simulating just a bit more fun and realistic!

But my favorite part of it all is AI traffic.

Myself and a team of other enthusiasts have worked for years now to “back-date” the AI traffic in flight sim with schedules and aircraft going from the late 90s and early 00s all the way back to the 30s in some instances. We can choose what year we want to fly, and with a week or two of work on installing schedules, we can fly in that year in our flight sim. Currently my project has been 1998, and this has been so incredibly rewarding!

I live by and love my flight sim. It has always been there for me when life is too much and continues to be there for me when I have free time. Nothing else like it on this planet.”

9. Sounds nice.

“Stargazing sets me straight.

I’m headed out on a stargazing trip right now, just for a night.

My grandfather put a little observatory in one of the “darkest places” in Utah, I’m going to check it out.”

10. Daydreaming.

“Maladaptive daydreaming.

I’ve had it all of my life and only recently learned it’s a thing. I’ve daydreamed so many possible scenarios that some of them have actually come true, just based on the odds. Mostly, it saps my mental strength and makes me feel disassociated from the real world. When I’m anxious it fuels the anxiety because I can see the bad thing happening SOOOOO clearly.

I think it’s a mechanism my mind developed to help me cope with a lonely childhood but never disassembled, and it continued to churn away even when it was no longer needed.

On a positive note, I write fiction and have come to recognize that the daydreaming is my mind’s way of telling me there are stories I need to get out.”

11. Writing.

“Writing is such a relief!

On nights when I am too tired (and want to avoid screen time), I either imagine my way through plot and dialogue or make small notes on paper.

There are times when I am writing that I truly zone out for hours at a time and I’m just *there* with my characters.”

12. Take a break.

“For me, reading fanfiction is one of my fave hobbies.

Completely takes my mind off of everything.”

13. Not a bad idea.

“I pretend I won the lottery and escape to my first 24 hours of being debt free.

It works to put me asleep, when I need to disassociate from a bad feeling, etc.”

14. Works for you.

“I find a cozy, somewhat isolated section of a trail or creek and smoke a cigar while listening to podcasts.

Can’t say it’a the healthiest habit, but it gets me outdoors and makes me less anxious.”

15. Music is life.

“Play music.

Yesterday I was feeling sad about Covid. I sat at the piano and played Handel’s ‘Sarabande’ over and over for like two hours in a daze of feeling weird and missing my life.”

16. Very nice!

“Cook.

You get a reward at the end and improve your skills for the next go round.

Since you have to eat daily, it is also a good money saver.”

17. Try it.

“You really need to try lucid dreaming.

It takes time but is the best there are several books you can read them for instructions and you can do anything in your dreams on your own command.

It’s pretty cool.”

18. Great!

“Drink.

If you black out multiple days in a row it feels like time travel.”

19. Stuck in the human world.

“I pretend I am a robot stuck in a human world that needs to blend in by acting overly human.

An example, I felt down so I put my phone and stuff away and got some food at a noodle place. Since I had no phone to bypass time I instead marveled at the chefs putting together a meal for me and made sure they got hyped up by me watching.

After enjoying a meal that I watched with so much anticipation I let those guys know that damnnn that food made my day! It makes an occurrence like just going to eat food a lot less boring dystopia and alot more human!”

20. Time to get away.

“I dream about buying a bit of land somewhere ruralish, building a small home, having animals. Nothing fancy.

Just away from people and away from the noise of life.”

21. An adventure.

“Go freediving.

You have to leave absolutely everything behind at the surface. Quiet your mind, calm your body, and meditate while you sink into the weightless and peaceful embrace of Mother Ocean. Plus you can get super close to all of your gilled friends.

Or rock climbing (real climbing outside), similar concept but not quite as immersive.”

22. All good options.

“Smoke weed, take long showers, take a hike in the nearby wilderness preserve.

Or play Skyrim for the 34th time.”

23. Get lost in a book.

“Reading books is definitely my favorite way to immerse myself in another world.

TV and video games don’t do it quite the same way for me.”

24. Make something.

“Step into my woodshop and make something.

It’s essentially an analog process for me I try to keep computers out of the shop.”

25. Strumming.

“Play guitar. It’s pretty much impossible to worry and stress while doing it.

It disengages that part of my brain or something. It’s got me through some tough times lately.”

26. Peaceful.

“I love my deck after dark. Like a lot of people here I used to stay up late to be alone.

Now I like to sit out on my deck in the dark. Very peaceful.”

How about you?

Tell us what you do to escape reality in the comments.

We can’t wait to hear from you!