Copium is a word that means pretty much exactly what it sound like. It’s a portmanteau of cope and opium, and it is an all-too fitting description of the human condition. When we come face to face with life’s struggles we cope. We use different strategies to help us feel better, or to “get through it”. But usually coping strategies are mere “band-aids”. They help us meet our immediate needs but they do little to nothing to make a lasting difference.
Then of course, we have the second word: opium. Opium is a drug that can have the effect of making one forget about their problem by distancing them from reality. When we’re separated from reality, we’re also separated from our problems. Too bad we have that small side effect of being disconnected from reality. Opium itself is an extremely compelling method for coping for millions of people across the globe. But the truth is that there are copiums all around us.
There are no shortage of methods we use to distance ourselves from reality so that we can cope. The usual suspects come to mind. Social media, entertainment, porn, gambling, addictions etc. The list is long and diverse, but what do these all have in common? They distance us from reality so that we can cope. Can you see this pattern in your own life? If not, then perhaps you’re not looking hard enough.
In practice, copium is often used as a shorthand way to tell someone that they are lying to themself1. But if we’re honest, I think everyone has used different methods to distract themselves from uncomfortable truths in order to cope.
Footnotes
Footnotes
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often in a snarky retort. ↩