Humans have loved exploration throughout history. Travel has endless opportunities for commerce, trade, culinary delights, cultural education, or even just a fresh start.
Escapism is when a person relies on an activity or routine to distract them from everyday discomforts. Michael Brein, a social psychologist who specializes in travel and intercultural communication, believes escapists are more prone to the dromomaniac lifestyle, which is the need to wander and could be a form of overactivity.
“I’m not looking at traveling, in particular dromomania, as it’s described: as a particularly pathological thing that a lot of people do,” Brein says“But it certainly can be addictive from the standpoint of constantly facing more and more novelty and getting the reward and satisfaction of being in a new situation.”