Anime and Fantasy Life

[LordSappington]

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

no it's the reality of the world that scares me into staying in my fantasy world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

why did you pick the name LordSappington?

Like all fears, the best way to handle them is progressive desensitization, i.e. face them on. Just try giving up anime for a month. If your life goes into total disarray, then you can always go back to your old ways in 30 days.

There's a street by where I live called Sappington. I always thought that was a really stuffy British name, and I always imagined that it was named after someone with a name like Lord Asquith Winston Sappington IV. It really has no other meaning than that; just a funny name I came up with once.

[pyrogen]

I don't think fantasizers always run away from reality. I think that it can start that way, but after a while, the fantasies can take on a life of their own. Even with an appealing, successful life, the fantasy can still have a bigger impact. Fantasizing can become wired with the reward system in the brain. I suspect there's a connection with serotonin and dopamine.

I've been of the thought for a few years now that fantasy behavior actually can be an addictive process similar to other addictions. When it involves fantasies that affect your brain chemistry, it can even be a chemical addiction.

If I ever became some sort of psychological/psychiatric professional, this would be the subject I'd focus on. It's very ignored and a very serious issue.

I've struggled with fantasy addiction most of my life, and still struggle. I've acknowledged it as an addictive process for a long time and at times often approached it like people sometimes try to approach giving up drinking.

It's very easy to get sucked into it. When I started doing RP gaming, I started to meet people who gave me positive feedback for being an addict. Put two fantasy addicts together, and you have a folie a deux. It's that much harder to break out when you share the addiction.
I'm not saying RP gaming is a bad activity. But when you combine it with the addiction, it can be problematic.

One of the issues with approaching fantasy addiction is that you have to ask, is it the content of the fantasy that's addicting, or the alpha state of fantasy itself?

I think that male fantasy addiction has different components than female fantasy addiction.

I notice that women tend to focus on emotional content of their fantasies, especially relationships/sex. You see this when you see that there are women who spend ALL OF THEIR TIME writing sexually/romantically based fanfiction. Women get just as into this kind of an addiction as men do with porn, it's just the context of the sexual fantasy that's different... writing erotic fanfic or reading romance novels vs looking at porn. Fantasies of being in love
spark the arousal rather than an image of a naked body. But the end result is the same.
These produce chemicals in the brain. You feel real arousal when you think about sex.

However I've observed that some male FAs tend to have a powerlessness/lack of success complex and tend to fantasize about being powerful or successful.

Fantasy addiction has cost me jobs. When I've done sit-down jobs, I spend them in my fantasies. Having physical activities that I *have* to do, that don't allow me time to wander off in my head, helps me a good deal. I don't go into fantasy mode at all when it's a life or death situation. If a person could die as a result of me being inattentive, I'm attentive. This is why I've often flirted with the idea of being a paramedic.

I suspect there's an underlying chemical problem in people who are fantasy addicts, rather than a straightforward addiction process. I bet the brain electrical activity of fantasy addicts looks different from the activity of non-addicts. A family friend who is a neurofeedback specialist told me that fantasy activity produces high levels of alpha waves.

I found that taking medication helped. I'm diagnosed with ADHD. I take medication for ADHD (a stimulant) which helps me to focus on things *other* than the fantasy, but it doesn't help the underlying problem as much. It doesn't stop the fantasizing. It just helps me to do something ELSE. It helps me overfocus on *other* things besides my fantasy, if that makes sense.

I took Paxil at one time. This was *very* successful for me, while I took it, and while it worked. It kept me totally glued to the real world. I actually felt like what a normal person must feel like. However, it was hard to lose some of what I felt made me 'special'; my creativity. My creativity died on Paxil. I couldn't paint and couldn't write.

But the thing is - look at underlying reasons and consider that fantasy feeds itself. The more you fantasize, the more you're drawn to. Are you a boredom fantasizer, an ADHD fantasizer, an autistic fantasizer, a sexual fantasizer (which many female fanfic writers seem to be).

[Kura Ookami]

Yes, why can't you be like that? Why can't you do everything that Sakura does? Why not let her inspire you to become like her? She might have looked at her two teammates and realised that she can't do what they can and given up there and then, but she didn't.
Sakura doesn't have either the Sharingan that Sasuke Uchiha has, or the power of the nine-tailed fox that Naruto has, but she does have her own abilities that neither Naruto nor Sasuke have. She can see through genjutsu and control her chakra far better than either of her teammates.
What are your unique abilities? What can you do that nobody else can? The one thing that makesa ninja isn't how many ninjitsu he or she can master and use. The one thing that makes a ninja is never giving up no matter what. Do everything you can, aspire to greatness and never give up. You can be llike Sakura, you can be better than her, but if you want to be like her, never give up. Did Sakura give up on her dreams when she failed the chunin exams? Did she give up when she realised she could never have the sharingan or the nine-tailed fox?
You can be like Sakura. How would Sakura live in the world we live in today?
Let Sakura be an inspiration for you, rather than someone you compare yourself to.

As for myself, I relate to Gutz from berserk. Like him I've still got to find my dream, find the one thing in life that I really want. I know that I don't want to follow anyone elses dream, to weild my sword for anyone else. And so, like Gutz, I'm going to experiment with things to discover what I want, to discover my dream.

Remember Lily. You can't change the past, you can't go back and do things another way, but you can start to do things another way today and thus change your own future. Change the world, make a difference just like sakura. Train hard and you can become strong. I know you can. I believe in you.

[JSB]

I just wanted to say that your post was very interesting.

You might like to read this 1987 article from the New York Times:

For Some People, Half of Day Is Spent in Fantasy - New York Times

Originally Posted by pyrogen

I don't think fantasizers always run away from reality. I think that it can start that way, but after a while, the fantasies can take on a life of their own. Even with an appealing, successful life, the fantasy can still have a bigger impact. Fantasizing can become wired with the reward system in the brain. I suspect there's a connection with serotonin and dopamine.

I've been of the thought for a few years now that fantasy behavior actually can be an addictive process similar to other addictions. When it involves fantasies that affect your brain chemistry, it can even be a chemical addiction.

If I ever became some sort of psychological/psychiatric professional, this would be the subject I'd focus on. It's very ignored and a very serious issue.

I've struggled with fantasy addiction most of my life, and still struggle. I've acknowledged it as an addictive process for a long time and at times often approached it like people sometimes try to approach giving up drinking.

It's very easy to get sucked into it. When I started doing RP gaming, I started to meet people who gave me positive feedback for being an addict. Put two fantasy addicts together, and you have a folie a deux. It's that much harder to break out when you share the addiction.
I'm not saying RP gaming is a bad activity. But when you combine it with the addiction, it can be problematic.

One of the issues with approaching fantasy addiction is that you have to ask, is it the content of the fantasy that's addicting, or the alpha state of fantasy itself?

I think that male fantasy addiction has different components than female fantasy addiction.

I notice that women tend to focus on emotional content of their fantasies, especially relationships/sex. You see this when you see that there are women who spend ALL OF THEIR TIME writing sexually/romantically based fanfiction. Women get just as into this kind of an addiction as men do with porn, it's just the context of the sexual fantasy that's different... writing erotic fanfic or reading romance novels vs looking at porn. Fantasies of being in love
spark the arousal rather than an image of a naked body. But the end result is the same.
These produce chemicals in the brain. You feel real arousal when you think about sex.

However I've observed that some male FAs tend to have a powerlessness/lack of success complex and tend to fantasize about being powerful or successful.

Fantasy addiction has cost me jobs. When I've done sit-down jobs, I spend them in my fantasies. Having physical activities that I *have* to do, that don't allow me time to wander off in my head, helps me a good deal. I don't go into fantasy mode at all when it's a life or death situation. If a person could die as a result of me being inattentive, I'm attentive. This is why I've often flirted with the idea of being a paramedic.

I suspect there's an underlying chemical problem in people who are fantasy addicts, rather than a straightforward addiction process. I bet the brain electrical activity of fantasy addicts looks different from the activity of non-addicts. A family friend who is a neurofeedback specialist told me that fantasy activity produces high levels of alpha waves.

I found that taking medication helped. I'm diagnosed with ADHD. I take medication for ADHD (a stimulant) which helps me to focus on things *other* than the fantasy, but it doesn't help the underlying problem as much. It doesn't stop the fantasizing. It just helps me to do something ELSE. It helps me overfocus on *other* things besides my fantasy, if that makes sense.

I took Paxil at one time. This was *very* successful for me, while I took it, and while it worked. It kept me totally glued to the real world. I actually felt like what a normal person must feel like. However, it was hard to lose some of what I felt made me 'special'; my creativity. My creativity died on Paxil. I couldn't paint and couldn't write.

But the thing is - look at underlying reasons and consider that fantasy feeds itself. The more you fantasize, the more you're drawn to. Are you a boredom fantasizer, an ADHD fantasizer, an autistic fantasizer, a sexual fantasizer (which many female fanfic writers seem to be).

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

I have been wanting to be a fictional character for years
either a romantic heroine like lizzy in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

or lara croft from the TOMD RAIDER


what appeals to me is the strong truthful character of these women

and lara can beat some serious a-s too


if I has my way I would combine to 2 characters and then watch out world

after doing some serious thinking about this I've decided that I had chosen these characters
because I believed that they have the stregnth that I don't possess

I believed this because I allowed myself to wallow in self loathing

lizzy had such stregnth of character -but all I have to do is allow the true me to stand up for herself

sure I may not have the physical stregnth of lara but I could work on my health and be a stronger person


so my suggestion would be to others to look inside yourself and try to find
in you
what you have admired in your fantasy characters

[Andrew Gubb]

You probably feel trapped by your current real-life situation. What can I say... do your best, keep working at it, and you'll find the light. Life is terrible for us young people, but I tell you, every year it's been getting better. The four years between my age and yours has turned out to change me almost entirely.

Now my life really is like an anime In both good and bad ways. But exciting? Hell yeah

If you're moved by such things, chances are you have some adventurer in you too. People who don't watch "Oprah". That part of you isn't there for nothing. It was put there for a good reason, and it will look for any opportunity to express itself. It will express itself. So long as you have desire, you have a very good hope.

P.S. I LOVE Naruto

[magi13]

I live life like an anime character too, but maybe it depends on which anime you love? I suggest you try watching Hayate no butler or anime which have character's that try their best in life and strive hard to do better.

1. Fruit baskets
2. Nodame cantible
3. etc.

Hehe, I love giving 100 percent in everything I do, and I learned that from positive anime characters.

Do your best and hope to here from you

[z1freeride]

I really like this article about living a fantasy life: Do You Live a Fantasy Life, or Do Your Fantasies Control You?

It's helped me a lot!