Mathew Inman (the Oatmeal guy) wrote a book about his experience with running and why he runs [0], the crux of which is to escape. Like many things, it is clearly a coping mechanism. Not all coping mechanisms are created equal. What works for some may not work for others. But I'd encourage anyone to seek real help to solve the problems even if their coping mechanisms are beneficial in some way - they might not be beneficial overall.

[0] - https://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Wonderful-Reasons-Distances-...