In an episode of the animated series Gravity Falls, residents of a small town celebrate the “Summerween” – a Halloween at the height of summer, with sunglasses and heat -adapted sunglasses and fantasies. The date, fictional, surpassed the screen and won fans in the real world. But why are new celebrations or reinvented parties already being created? And what happens when those who refuse to participate in these performances and are punished with exclusion or judgment?
The answer may be less in the calendar and more in the collective emotional state. The growing phenomenon of out -of -time thematic parties – such as Christmas in July, private carnival or mini -years in odd years – can be understood as a form of thematic escapism: a symbolic attempt to reinvent everyday life, avoid boredom and anesthetize anguish. We create playful rituals not only to distract us, but also to escape uncomfortable reflections on ourselves, our choices and the place we occupy in the world. Question or destroy this flow in many environments has become taboo.
The fine line between playing and avoiding
Playing is not just a child thing. Play is an important part of mental health: organizes emotions, strengthens social bonds and relieves the. But there is a limit between using fantasy as a healthy expression and turning it into a constant escape. When life becomes a sequence of thematic events, there is a risk that escapism becomes a chronic emotional dropout – a way of avoiding contact with real, often painful but necessary feelings.
Are we living or just by staging?
The obsession with “instagramble” experiences raises a crucial question: Are we really present or just staging moments for external validation? South Korean philosopher byung-chul Han describes our time as a “society of tiredness”, where he replaces her silence, listening and introspection. Within this scenario, thematic escapism acts as an emotional escape valve – sometimes useful, sometimes symptomatic. We pretend it is a celebration, but what we seek is just a pause of reality.
This dynamic points to a contemporary trait: intolerance to frustration. Instead of dealing with the discomfort, we seek to anesthetize it. The party, costume and performance take the place of coping and elaboration. But postponing contact with pain can chronable suffering by locking emotional maturity. Fantasy becomes comfort zone – welcoming but also limiting. And like every comfort zone, it doesn’t grow in it. Only it is good.
Between the rite and the real
This does not mean that creative parties should be rejected. On the contrary: they can be powerful tools for care and connection, especially when involving affection, authenticity and sharing. The problem is when the ritual replaces real and fantasy becomes the only possible territory.
By celebrating an out -of -season Halloween, we may be just kidding. But perhaps, without realizing it, we are also asking for a truce. And in this silent request, what is at stake is not the party – but the way we deal with the pain, the voids and the responsibilities that are part of growing.
*Text written by clinical psychologists Márcia Lenci Viscomi (CRP-06 /17014), Postgraduate in Psychodrama, Psychoanalysis and Neuropsychology from the Israeli Hospital Albert Einstein / Teaching and Research Division; and Chiara Linci Viscomi (CRP-06/160095), postgraduate in family and couples and author of the book “Let’s Investigate Emotions”
