Anime escapism - PMO is not the only way you run from your problems

Well, I want to share my reality, which may look a little awkward to you. I started NoFap mostly because I wanted to improve my life and my capability to devote to my goals in life. Those goals inevitably involve studying hard, and in my inability to focus, I have often resorted to PMO in the past. But there are some other habits which I really like that tend to be a way of escaping from what I have to do. And anime (japanese animation, if anyone doesn't know) is a remarkable one. Should that be shameful, as I am 25? Maybe. I stopped to watch anime at the same time when I started NoFap, aware of the impact that it had in my discipline, but I am writing this post because last week it became very clear to me how it can get me out of reality. It was when I rewatched like 5 episodes of Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin), just to relax my mind (breaking my about 10 months without watching anime). I really don't watch so many animes, but this is probably the one I enjoy the most, and, because of that, just a few episodes was enough to make me feel really high and out of reality. For the last week I am recurrently remembering about the plot and thinking about the soundtrack, and I don't like that because I've been practicing mindfulness and I value being connected to the present moment. Maybe for coincidence, I lost a little of my desire to have contact with other people, with real people. It is like the contact with the characters make me feel that real people are not that interesting. I lost a bit of my confidence in looking people in the eyes and talking to them. Perhaps I am overstating and it has nothing to do with anime, but I think there is a real emotional impact of these stories which I really like in my mind.

Just so you can see that I'm not building a crazy theory: there is a video available on YouTube called "The Curse of Evangelion", and it was part of the reason why I decided to abandon PMO and escapism. It tells about the way the reputed anime Neon Genesis Evangelion criticized its own genre, by warning the anime fans they were being imprisoned out of reality by the fantasies they liked so much, and how the author Hideaki Anno failed to succeed, since the franchise made a tremendous success and the fans immersed in the story itself, instead of immersing themselves in its message. And that failure of Anno is the curse of Evangelion.

Anyway, I hope someone will benefit of reading it and reflecting on their own reality. If you feel like me, please share your experience.

 

I'm so glad I'm not alone hahahaha but I knew it. It has some good points indeed. For instance, AoT gave me some glimpses of freedom and comfort zone. But I think the emotional content is too strong and it mess with me a lot. So I'm now trying to evolve my thoughts through meditation, chats with friends, reading and reflective thinking. I think that that is closer to the physiological.

 

I hate to hype that anime, but, damn, all of its development and its contents are brilliant! And the message it brings in the end was probably the main factor why I became able to think more clearly about many aspects of life in the last four years (I watched Eva in November 2016).

 

I think the feeling of being outside reality that anime gives me is caused by this high amount of dopamine. And I feel exactly like you described: less attracted to social situations. And I also have a weird anxiety, probably because I feel attached to something I can't make contact with. This ambiguity is very strange, and perhaps the human brain has not evolved to feel or understand this type of sensation. Relationships with real people are the ones that make me feel happy and complete, they seem much less ambiguous, because either you feel really accepted or really rejected. This last Saturday I met with a large group of friends, people I hadn't seen for the last 8 months due to the pandemic, and it was very rewarding. I am planning AoT to be my last anime ever. I'm going to watch its last season when it's released and then do an emotional detox.

 

Thank you for your empathy. I agree that it made part of my growth, but now I think I must move forward in order to face reality. But that's just my case, I believe there are people who can watch anime without being so emotionally involved. I'm just not one of them.

 

Not long at all. I enjoyed reading your story. It's amazing that you are aware of and struggling with all this at such a young age. I didn't even know there was a name for "maladaptative daydreaming", and it's great to hear about it, as I've suffered from this on several occasions.

 

That's what I intend to do, but I really think that anime is like porn in some cases, that is, it is difficult to maintain balance when the content is meant to get us excited, like JTYeep said.

 

I'm very glad to know we're all facing similar challenges. We will make it together, fellows! Stay strong

 

Is there any of those for anime?