Was Houdini just battling burnout? 

My thought hmm, so many schools of thought address escapism differently. Is it procrastination against a difficult task in front of us, is it this compensatory control in the face of stress and or uncertainty in life in general? Is it a response to burnout actually? My coworker Lincoln, noted it is like a lack of self care. And Newel of Knowledge says in a video it is like compensating for a inability to express of enforce personal boundaries that then lead to burnout and dissatisfaction and compensatory retail therapy . And in Dopamine Nation, I think Anna Lembke points to the overall compulsive  overconsumption , as kind of its own bad habit but also that one likely develops to cope with trauma sure but also because we are living in a "dopamine nation" where the abundance of the stuff to consume is drowning us.

And above all of this I just wonder isn't it okay to just guilt free consume something mindless, vegge out after a long hard work day? Yes agree evening time compulsive overconsumption sure can be just say reaching for a familiar tool in your toolbox when according to Ali Abdaal in Feel Good Productivity,  you could try learning other relaxation techniques that are rejuvenating and yet less destructive that television like say, painting, but he says you got to learn and find your own thing that doesnt "feel like yet more work" otherwise your brain will ultimately rebel yet again and you will reach for the easy stuff .

I suppose it is a spectrum. I asked ChatGPT about the above and Chat had this interesting insight that yea hmm maybe this is kind of a spectrum of different extremes and haha Im realizing now that there is one school of thought I havent mentioned. The Buddhists and Stoics will say you just need to haha meditate and practice meta cognition to be aware of when you find yourself on this spectrum and identify where. And attempt to at least make a lucid choice as to where to go from there .