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Chrysanthe97
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Post Re: Can "fantasy" make you mentally ill?
on: February 03, 2013 11:34
Tolkien is awesome. I'm doing my author project for English on him.
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TofuFishy
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Post Re: Can "fantasy" make you mentally ill?
on: February 27, 2013 01:43
I do not think that anything in terms of stories/games/etc. can make you go mentally ill all by themselves. Like a lot of us here, I RP and I read to escape the stressfulness of reality which I sometimes cannot handle BUT it is always a temporary feeling and while I would give lots to live in Middle-Earth if I had the chance, I know that I have the capability of making reality just as great if not better. It just takes me putting in the effort. That, and I also read for fun at times. It is a hobby and a form of escapism. But does that make me mentally ill? If you do the same thing, are you mentally unstable? I don't think so.

Like Niniel the Weaping said, so long as you can come back to us and have no difficulty communicating with others as a result from reading/gaming, you're ok!
findemaxam48
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Post Re: Can "fantasy" make you mentally ill?
on: March 10, 2013 01:24
I think its a wat of dealing. It can take you away sometimes, and thats OK, but if you find yourself pretending to be someone, then it's a problem
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
starofdunedain
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Post Re: Can "fantasy" make you mentally ill?
on: April 02, 2013 01:57
As someone who has a lot of experience with mental illnesses, I can say with confidence that it is not fantasy that is the source of the problem. People who do have mental illnesses and use fantasy worlds to cope already have those difficulties before they start 'escaping'. In fact it is because of the illness that they want to escape, not that they become ill by escaping. There are many reasons why someone may become mentally ill. Chemical imbalance, stress, trauma, grief, other problems.
Fantasy is not one of them.
Lastiel Rusc
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Post Re: Can "fantasy" make you mentally ill?
on: April 02, 2013 09:02
Well said Starofdunedain!
'If they have a fault it is distrust of strangers. Though their magic was strong even in those days they were wary. They differed from the High Elves of the West, and were more dangerous and less wise.' ~ Flies and Spiders The Hobbit
Taug anin ú-daug.
findemaxam48
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on: July 13, 2013 02:09
I agree. I know someone who was later found to have a mental problem, and she would always refer to her little fantasy world. But sometimes when she wasnt, she would say things like, "I go to my world so I can escape." So I know where your coming from, Star.
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
Eusonia
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on: July 16, 2013 12:19
Well, I tend to read fantasy more when I am upset or lonely, its a place where you can feel safe that whatever happens, you know it will end happily ever after.
I miss you. I miss you both. I miss you every week, ever day, every hour, every minute. Every second I shatter once more under the weight I have to carry. My heart bleeds afresh from this old wound.
findemaxam48
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on: July 18, 2013 12:03
Thats true for a lot of people, too, but it seems like more of a stress reviver or a temporary healing thing, the way you say it, Eusonia.
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
LithonielGreenleaf
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on: March 26, 2014 01:17
Fantasy does not make you ill. But it can help the harder things in life to seem a lot less terrible. I read to escape to another world as something to do when i'm relaxing. Real life can be stressful sometimes. But reading helps my mind to clear and it helps my creativity. I love writing stories and sometimes having a fantasy can make spark a person's creativity and imagination.And life can be explored with a clearer mind and can help to inspire many. So fantasy making you mentally ill? I don't believe so.

[Edited on 03/26/2014 by LithonielGreenleaf]
El sila erin lu e-govaned vin. (A star shines on the hour of our meeting)
ElrondsQueen
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on: April 11, 2014 12:42
Fantasy can take your life away. From experience with Obsessive daydreaming disorder, it does make you more depressed than life does because it's better than reality and it's depressing it's only fantasy.
Pedin i phith in aníron, a nin ú-cheniathog.
Hanasian
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on: April 17, 2014 04:59
Fantasy in itself doesn't make one mentally ill. But having some mental conditions can be amplified by fantasy and RP. Back in 2002-03, I dealt directly with a woman who couldn't separate the RP fantasy world from reality, and this had a detrimental effect on her well being. I talked to her again some years later after we went our separate ways and it was good to know she was able to break free and make a good life for herself.
Eighth King of Arthedain - It was in battle that I come into this Kingship, and it will be in Battle when I leave it. There is no peace for the Realm of Arnor. Read the last stand of Arthedain in the Darkest of Days.
findemaxam48
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on: April 18, 2014 05:25
It can be used as a form of escapism, I think, but like I said before, it can be a side effect of an already present yet recessive mental disorder (like a type/ symptom of scizophrenia is delusions).
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
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