For Namrata, founding father of Keemiya Creatives, 2014 was the 12 months that modified all the things. She give up her job and launched into a solo journey throughout continents, severing all ties together with her outdated life. “For the subsequent three years, I wandered – bodily, mentally, and emotionally. I discovered solace in solitude, and a way of freedom in being unreachable,” she instructed indianexpress.com.
“Each metropolis, each village had a narrative. The chaos of overseas capitals, the silence of distant mountains, the knowledge of ruins, all of them formed me.” Finally, she relocated to a Tier-3 metropolis, the place she knew nobody. “Ranging from scratch was each exhilarating and humbling. I had no job, no community. However in rebuilding, I found the true which means of independence,” she mentioned.
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The burden of the world is a silent killer. It creeps in like mud accumulating in corners you forgot to scrub. Your thoughts hums with doubt about each choice you’ve made. Slowly, you begin resenting the life you’ve constructed. You keep on with that weight till you snap. You retreat from the world, hoping to return again reworked. For a lot of, journey turns into the escape of alternative.
Individuals disappear as a result of, typically, it’s the one technique to keep sane. They search full detachment from jobs, duties, and infinite to-do lists. To outsiders, this disappearance might look like escapism. Nevertheless, it’s usually a obligatory act of survival.
Why folks disappear
Learn why folks disappear. (Supply-Freepik)
Bear in mind Liz Gilbert, performed by Julia Roberts, within the film Eat Pray Love? After a breakdown, she walks away from her marriage, a rebound relationship, and her job, setting off on a year-long quest by means of Italy, India, and Indonesia. Pushed by desperation, she searches for happiness and finds peace as an alternative. In a hyper-connected world the place expectations are relentless, Gilbert’s story resonates.
Right this moment, many individuals are selecting to vanish from society for psychological survival.
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“In accordance with the Self-Dedication Idea (Deci & Ryan), human beings are pushed by autonomy, competence, and relatedness. When these wants go unmet, when life turns into overly managed, disconnected, or draining, folks hunt down radical change. Disappearing can really feel like reclaiming autonomy. It’s not nearly operating away; it’s about returning to the self,” Shruti Padhye, a senior psychologist at Mpower, instructed indianexpress.com.
This behaviour is depicted in Nomadland (2020), the Oscar-winning movie about Fern, a lady who embraces a nomadic life after private loss and monetary spoil. “Many aren’t simply fleeing society,” mentioned Padhye, “They’re on the lookout for authenticity, for house to grieve, and for easier methods to stay.”
She additionally mentioned that these disappearances are sometimes pushed by emotional exhaustion, id crises or burnout. Journey, in such circumstances, affords a reset, an opportunity to reconnect with one’s true self.
Chirag, a scholar of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), shared his story of a monsoon highway journey by means of Meghalaya. “We drove from Guwahati to Shillong, Cherrapunji, Laitlum Canyon, Mawlynnong, Dawki; the clouds and rain by no means left our facet,” he mentioned.
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One evening, previous 1 AM, they discovered themselves deep in a forest. Heavy rain. Zero visibility. The brakes slipped. “No sign, no assist. However we didn’t panic. We trusted one another and inched ahead till we discovered a tiny relaxation cease. We cooled the automobile, fastened the brakes, and drove on, virtually laughing on the insanity of all of it.”
When requested if this break from society was value it, he mentioned, “Moments like that crack you open. They strip life all the way down to its uncooked edges — survival, belief, awe. Stepping away from the world, even briefly, jogged my memory how alive I may really feel. On the market, misplaced within the rain, I discovered one thing actual. Was it value it? Each drenched, damaged, breathtaking second.”
Is disappearing regular?
“It’s a pure response,” mentioned Padhye. In accordance with her, “It’s the thoughts’s means of hitting pause; a reset mechanism that displays a necessity for emotional recalibration. Disappearing into nature or journey can result in increased psychological fulfilment.”
“Journey cannot solely supply a change of surroundings, but in addition push an individual to step out of their consolation zone to adapt and reinvent,” mentioned Vaishali Arora, a medical psychologist at LISSUN psychological well being platform.
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However is it wholesome? “If the choice is aware and reflective, it may possibly symbolize post-traumatic progress. But when it’s impulsive or sudden, it could level to underlying psychological well being challenges—power stress, anxiousness, or trauma,” mentioned Padhye.
Shreyansha Ghosh was an intern at indianexpress.com
