rescue fantasy
Hero intervention fantasy
A rescue fantasy is the romanticized belief that someone will swoop in to save you from your problems—financial troubles, emotional distress, a bad relationship.
The fantasy often centers on a specific person: a wealthy partner, a long-lost parent, a powerful mentor.
In psychology, it can also describe the opposite impulse—the need to be someone else's savior, often as a way of feeling important or avoiding one's own issues.
She kept dating troubled men, caught up in a rescue fantasy.
- saviorOne who rescues another
- white knightBenevolent takeover bidder
- damsel in distressWoman needing rescue
- damselOld-fashioned maiden
- heroOne admired for courage
knight in shining armor · knight · white horse · helpless · saving · saving grace · protect · vulnerable · codependent · therapist · projection · caretaker · wounded · fix · heal · attachment · attachment style · idealize
- Romance Clicheslove at first sight, happily ever after, soulmate, true love, meant to be
- fantasiesdaydream, dream, wishful thinking, illusion, make-believe