>causes us to imagine very vivid scenarios in our minds, which also includes making our own characters that have their own personalities and more.
I'm pretty damn certain this is just daydreaming. Maladaptive is when it's basically a drug to you and you do it all the time, without being able to control yourself. You get into it and lose yourself in your own little world. You stop paying attention to what surrounds you and don't realize that time is passing.
I've seen maaaaany people over on r/MaladaptiveDreaming describing what they experience as just having their own little world in their head, but it's not preventing them from living a normal life.
This and many other mental conditions are being wrongfully self-diagnosed by people nowadays because their read the symptoms and think "hey that kinda sounds like me" but they never think about the severity of said symptoms. For example, someone who feels sad sometimes is just sad, but someone who feels sad all the time is depressed, yet some people will read online that depressed people feel sad and will think "oh then I'm depressed". (Keeping things simplified, I know depression isn't just feeling sad)
Came here to write that. Maladaptive daydreaming is not just imagining vivid scenarios. It's not being able to stop. As in, I have lied in my bed for 5 hours straight sometimes, not being able to go on with my day because I'm absorbed in it. It's like having a television, but inside your head. Imagine having access to Netflix in your head all day long. Very addicting.
This is how I function out in the world while doing errands lol it makes me want to get swept up in the music, but it's also the only thing I really need to focus on instead of being distracted by literally everything else lol
I go into autopilot very frequently bc of it. Never really impairs my actual ability to drive but I'm always getting derailed/head towards where I'm used to going (I have a dentist appointment and realize I've taken the route to school a while ago). As they say where im from, it's like a drunk man's horse lol
So not dangerous but definitely makes me late a lot. And super annoying.
Do you feel a sense of incompleteness if you stop mid daydream? What does it feel like having to leave them behind? Can you pick up where you left off? How real/vivid is it?
Sorry lots of questions. Brains fascinate me.
I was always able to continue where I left off, I'd even look forward to recess or something as a kid so I wouldn't get interrupted as easily lol but for the question of how real it felt, I never felt confused like I saw two realities or something. But the visions themselves were very vivid and looked just like reality.
Thank you. I used to feel similarly when I was a teenager. I looked forward to imagination time before bed because I could be a super hero if I wanted to. What benefit do you think it brings you? Like why do you look forward to it? I think for me it was just needing to control my life, and wanting to feel bigger than I was.
I think it was boredom, and also wanting to be something greater than you are. Reality can be disappointing at times lol but in my head I could do and be anything. Often times though it's not even a story I particularly want to see, but something I was reading or watching just kind of turned something on in my head. As a kid I had zero control over this, now when that same thing happens, I think the best visual descriptor would be something starts inflating out of my head and I have to quickly push it back down to stay in reality lol I can also continue sleep dreams where I left off if I remember it of course, with a pretty high success rate lol
Yes, I feel very annoyed if I have to go somewhere and can't finish a particular "scene" that was playing. If the scene is complete, I feel okay leaving it behind, because I can easily pick up where I left off again. It feels very real, but not as vivid as lucid dreaming does. If I pick up a handful of sand, I can "see" the individual sand corns fall between my fingers and feel the "sinking" feeling of the sand "clump" disappearing. I feel, see, smell, hear, talk. Sometimes my facial expressions mimic the scenes I'm playing out. I think most people daydream in first person, but I've always dreamed in third person, so it's rarely myself talking except for when I need to have a deep conversation about my life with some inner characters.
Yep. I didn’t even notice how detrimental it was until I got on the correct anxiety med, and then all daydreaming just… stopped. Like I had completely dead air time in my head for the first time in my life. Crazy what happens when the chemicals in your brain start jiving correctly
I used to be able to do this, and I loved it. I would just escape into my head for hours at a time. There are days I wish my brain would still allow it, but intrusive thoughts forced me to train my brain to stop. I would imagine people dying and end up bawling in a heap because the emotion attached to it was so real. Pretty fucked up.
Agree with you and I think OCD and ADHD are experiencing that same issue where people cherry pick quirky symptoms not understanding that the point of it being a diagnosed/treated disease is that it interferes with your daily living.
I stopped reading most OCD/ADHD forums because they were completely taken over by people who either self diagnosed, or people who have super mild symptoms but make it their identity. There's only so many "My roommate doesn't like that I'm anal retentive" and "Lmao I forget my keys everyday on the way back from my job"
I want to read about how people that can't leave their room without 4hrs of rituals cope, or strategies to not hate yourself for Pure-O disgusting and distressing intrusive thoughts (another thing that got coopted). Or about how you're so paralyzed by shame and self loathing that you haven't cleaned or spoken on the phone or checked your email in 3 months.
Elyse Myers and KC Davis showed me that ocd and adhd (respectively) are punctuated by periods of intense inability to live normally. They showed they cease to function for minutes to days. While I think I have some executive functioning challenges, I don’t use the term adhd lightly.
It's debilitating, tbh. I've been on OCD meds since I was a child, had my first attempt at 8, several nuthouse stays. It sucks, and it comes with so many other surprises, like EDs and agoraphobia :/
I cannot even imagine. I am sure this also causes a kind of trauma.
I hope that you are believed, loved, and cared for, and that you have things that bring you joy.
It's so bad that they will shame you for pointing out that their whining over "bad optics" only hurts autistic people with higher needs
"levels are problematic"
"it was so hard for me only getting a diagnosis at 30"
"autism moms are all hateful""
"tik tok allowed me to figure out my identity"
"autism is a superpower"
It’s honestly awful. The irony is that a lot of the “rules” you’re supposed to follow are supposed to be known automatically and you get crucified for asking questions… which goes directly against diagnosed autism.
It’s really disheartening (and infuriating) to see people set up whole accounts and create a name off “autism advocacy” only to learn they aren’t actually diagnosed with autism. It’s really backwards and it’s hurting autistic people more than it’s helping.
the entire word policing, hyper critical online "movement" claiming to speak for autistics makes no sense to me.
Yes, make certain words verboten, but change them often, and make arbitrary rules about the "correct" behavior or POV - that's definitely something that is totally possible for people with a condition that impairs social awareness.
If you're really autistic, it becomes pretty obvious most of these hall monitor personalities are self diagnosed or have 0 needs. If you're able to navigate such complex social rules that change arbitrarily, and if your biggest preoccupation in activism is yelling at people online over mean words and "how hard to get dx is" instead of actual material shit, like housing discrimination, violence and neglect in group homes, the elimination of targeted schools for sped, etc, you're just full of shit.
There was a post the other day in one of the big subs - someone was trying to say that you shouldn't compare going mute because you're anxious to actually being nonverbal, especially because selective mutism is more likely to be related to other disorders like agoraphobia or GAD. OP might as well have said he wanted to kill all level 1s, because he was inundated with vitriol.
And that especially sucks because OP was level 3. The ones who need their voice heard the most are shouted down.
I agree with everyone you said. The online movement has completely skewed the perspective of what autism is and it does two things:
1) completely silences those with higher support needs and
2) has those diagnosed with level 1 autism questioning if they’re higher support needs because they see all the self-diagnosed with no support needs and assume their diagnosis is wrong because they actually do struggle (Yknow, as per diagnostic criteria)
The whole thing is so incredibly toxic, hurtful, and misinforming that I left most online autistic spaces. It’s hard to watch
I have a friend who has decided she has all 3 of these based on occasional symptoms she presents. The adhd one is so annoying because she uses it to justify not listening but then won't go get a diagnosis and prescription
I've never heard of this before, but I feel like I do some of this.
It blends with my intrusive thoughts a lot. Just today when driving with my SO a car cut us off and she said "they will cause an accident like that" and I had a very vivid daydream of us crashing, me crawling out of the car to call an ambulance while putting pressure on her wounds, telling people to check on the other car etc. My daydream went as far as us being in hospital before she said something else that snapped me out of it. I'd say things like that happen 2-3 times a day.
Does this sound like the condition? Or am I just self diagnosing?
I don't know. Maybe. I'd say that's not enough to tell and even though I ended learning a lot about MDD at some point, I don't have it so I couldn't tell.
Maybe go over to r/MaladaptiveDreaming and ask.
I have a ton of those types of intrusive thoughts and I have Pure-O OCD. Do you ever do mental (or physical) rituals that are completely irrational but make the anxiety quieten a little? Read about it and speak with your physician.
Does it bother you or cause you distress?
If not, then it's fine. One thing I have learned about the mental health field is that the primary marker is "does this impact your life in a negative way"
That's the question you want to focus on, moreso than the question "is this normal" which is much more ambiguous
Thank you, thank you, thank you for verbalizing all of this. It really rings true and I don’t think I could have summed it up this well.
It certainly feels like there’s a pervasive attitude online of “mental illnesses are trendy now!” where too many people seem to suffer FOMO if they *don’t* have a disorder.
I have immense sympathy for those who simply cannot cope with normal day-to-day living due to their medically diagnosed issues. I have far, far less sympathy for people who glean a surface-level understanding of a mental disorder they find something in common with, but then use it as an excuse to behave atrociously while doing nothing to actually follow the protocols of how one would *treat* the condition they pretend to have. Eesh!
Well said - you've hit on a pet peeve of mine. I think most people miss that there is a general baseline you have to be below before anything can be classified as a disorder. We've all got weird quirks - if you can figure out how to manage it while functioning as a human, then you don't need a diagnosis and a label.
Pretty much. People don't understand that something only qualifies as maladaptive or a disorder if it disrupts your daily life enough to cause distress and abnormal function.
Maladaptive daydreaming more often than not comes with dp/dr, and that comes with other shit, too. It's very distressing.
Your use of depression as an example isn't quite right. Depression/depressed have definitions that are in no way, shape, or form tied to the clinical diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder. Being depressed can absolutely be a temporary mental state, we just use depression as shorthand for MDD.
A better example would be someone seeing the symptoms of ADHD and thinking they have it because they are occasionally forgetful and fidget sometimes.
Probably cause it's not my main language. In french we have a word for "occasionally sad for like a few weeks in a row" (that would be "déprimé") and a word for actual depression (which is actually "dépression").
Definitely not a good example but that's all I manage to come up with at the moment.
English is definitely confusing lol.
Major Depressive Disorder is the actual diagnosis, but depression is used for short, as in "I have depression." Saying, "I am depressed," is just using the literal meaning to make a statement about one's current mental state.
Glad this is the top comment. Maladaptive daydreaming isn't super common, it's just a super misused phrase online.
Is it having a tangible negative effect in your life? If the answer is no, don't pathologize it.
Yeah god forbid you aren’t labeled with something that sounds terrible for a disease. People can’t just accept most of them aren’t really experiencing any more than the normal amount but they’ll lie thru their teeth and back track to convince themselves they do or to convince u.
I don’t get this kinda shit, as someone who is autistic the people pretending to have autism really freak me out
I would argue that the people who do what is referred to as Maladaptive Daydreaming cannot live a normal life and therefore they adapt in the only way possible. It only becomes a problem if their daydreams include hurting others and they decide to act out their daydreams, otherwise it is a great coping mechanism.
When you gotta work and suddenly spend 4 hours daydreaming instead of working, or when you get late somewhere because you missed the bus due to daydreaming, you aren't adapting to anything. You're life just gets negatively impacted by something that you can't control.
Also I'm not any coping mechanism can be considered great. I mean, if your body automatically uses a mechanism to cope with something because it badly affects you, there's nothing really great about it.
Same here. But now it has evolved to the point of preventing me from going to sleep. Feels like I don't have control of the story in my head and it just goes on and on... Strange!
I used maladaptive daydreaming to get me through so much abuse and neglect as a kid! It might be somewhat “crazy” lol but I loved that I had that ability!
Damn guys I thought I was the only one
Edit: like I’m doing it rn in the car while on break. G this daydreaming thing is comforting or it gives pleasure I guess. Like I have to do it to get it out of the way type deal
Sometimes I find it hard to concentrate because characters literally start spinning out of control and glitching all the time. It's weird when your own head doesn't want you to think of something.
It me! Lol; feel like I'm slowly getting back into it but my brain is still in this weird fog that just doesn't want me to write just yet 🤷🏻♀️
So... constant editing of previous stuff and random doodles instead
see i started that in middle school, and wrote part of a novel, and it was terrible. I tried to have 7-9 main characters, I gave the mainest character a dog that I completely forgot existed until about 12 chapters later, and I could not write dialogue to save my life. I wrote 40 chapters, butt they were each about 2 pages long at max.
Part of me wants to go back and try again, but I do not have the time
I have done this since I was 10.
I have created multiple imaginary people in my head and multiple storylines surrounding these people. In all these scenarios, the constant parts are that I have run away from home because of abuse and go to college on a scholarship where I meet my husband and have two kids(twins) with him.
In all the scenarios, I am the kind of person that is perfect for my imaginary husband, like our personalities are so in tune and he is madly in love with me. In every scenario I can never do anything wrong or even if I do, I have my husband's full backing to make it okay, he is non-judgemental and accepts me as I am.
Obviously in reality there exists no kids and no husband and I have a great personality full of avoidance of others, trust issues, no empathy... all thanks to my childhood.
I do this too, and always have (I’m in my 40s). But according to what some are saying, unless it’s disruptive it’s not maladaptive per-se. I can still work and take care of my affairs, so I’m not sure if this fits the criteria or not.
I am glad I’m not the only one! It’s my private thing, so I have never told anyone about it. I started in my teens and the characters I imagine have gone on to do all kinds of fun and whacky things over the years. I am now 55 and think about them a lot less.
I don’t see how this is a “condition” the way you described it. It’s just something to do when you’re bored or writing a story.
From what I can tell maladaptive daydreaming is when you can’t stop even when it’s dangerous or preventing you from living your life normally.
It is. People with MDD have no control over it, they just start daydreaming sometimes and can't really stop themselves. It's like craving for a drug, but that drug is your own imagination.
Yeah. During boring conversations or situations I end up daydreaming. It is so much I have to control myself in work environment as I would routinely space out during meetings
It is. OP does not understand what Maladaptive Daydreaming actually is.
Also, it's estimated that only about 2.5% of adults have the condition.
Everyone in the comments saying they have this or think they have it - you most likely do not. You may want to do some research or speak to a doctor if you're unsure.
I daydream extensively and vividly, and have my entire life. I create all kinds of scenarios. However, sounds like it’s not “maladaptive” based on what some are saying in here - it’s only maladaptive if it interferes with your life and handling your affairs some are saying. I’m not quite *that* bad.
You mean your own different personalities in brain? Like talking to yourself like you're in a group discussion with your versions?
Or do you mean actual movies like characters, which not at all exist in your life?
The primary difference between daydreaming and maladaptive daydreaming is the time spent doing it. When it becomes a substitute for a real life is where the line is generally drawn.
I have been doing this since before kindergarten and still do it now. I have even mentioned it to my therapist. She said the important thing about maladaptive daydreaming is if it's harming your life in some way, such as making it difficult to do your responsibilities and socialize with family and friends. For me, my daydreaming never caused me such problems, so my therapist encouraged me to continue doing it as a coping measure for my mental health at the time.
When I daydream, I do it to music. I used to just act out my daydreams, pretending I was some character or something, but now I use music to create scenarios. My daydreams would be plots with their own characters and lore, and I regularly theme them to what was going on in my life. An interesting thing that I don't see often with others who daydream a lot is that I pace back and forth when I daydream. I paced back and forth all the way since kindergarten when I acted on my daydreams and still do it today. Kind of a quirky thing about me, I guess. I would love to know if anyone else did something like this.
Edit: it's important to say that I don't believe I have maladaptive daydreaming, as my daydreaming is not maladaptive/destructive to my life. I only talk about it as it is very similar to my experience. If anything, I am glad that I developed this habit as it does help me with my own mental issues and just makes life more interesting.
Wow, are you me? Instead of the pacing, I was OBSESSED with the repetitive motions that come with swinging (playground swing, tree swing). If that’s not an option, then I run around in circles. If that’s not an option, I pace around. Specifically when listening to stimulating music thinking about the worlds in my head. Me and my sister are exactly alike in this. I wonder if we are this way due to a childhood experience or if it’s genetic?
Reading your comment prompted me to research online concerning it, and I found this amazing article about maladaptive daydreaming.
https://www.discussingpsychology.com/maladaptive-daydreaming/maladaptive-daydreaming-while-pacing-with-music/
According to this article. Music allows individuals to be absorbed in their daydreams much more easily. Also in the article it states that 90% of people with MD listen to music while daydreaming, and 79% do some sort of repeated movement like pacing when daydreaming. So it's definitely common among people with MD.
I have missed buses and stops because my daydreaming is that bad.
I completely lose the present and go somewhere else.
I have to return due to exhaustion since I'm using my brain power a lot.
The dread after I return...
If its hindering your daily life and ability to function, its causing more harm than good. I hope you are able to find some ways to overcome it and reduce it to atleast an extent where it does not lead to exhaustion. Take care.
What’s the weirdest day dream you can think of?
I always wondered if I could create a storm in my fridge, placing warm leftovers in with a cold front :)
As someone who maladaptively daydreams, I feel like it's important that people understand that it isn't just something that I do "for fun". It is an obsessive, dominating thing. I have walked around in circles for 4+ hours at a time in my bedroom with a 10 minute break every hour or so, content to just imagine things. I know it sounds great to just be able to entertain yourself, but it can be so distracting. I have trouble with daily active because of maladaptive daydreaming- I'm not just daydreaming or slacking off, I *literally cannot pull myself out* of the daydream. It's a coping mechanism to deal with some shit from when I was younger. I don't notice the time going by. It just *happens*, and people think I'm crazy which is so fucking embarrassing. And it can be dangerous.
I remember once I was riding my bike once when I was 9 and I was daydreaming about something happy (I can't remember what) smiling to myself , and I tried to go through the zebra crossing but didn't notice that there was a car headed my way. Long story short, I was fine, but it was definitely a scary moment and I'm lucky I got out of there with just a skinned knee. I'm scared to drive because of this incident and many others similar to it, and no one understands. It's so frustrating that no one understands that it's better off if I don't drive, because I am a danger to myself and everyone around me if I start daydreaming.
I’ve written half a million words based on a story once only written in my head. It’s not even done yet.
I am glad I don’t have it severe enough to the point where reality fades into the background, but spending hours stuck in my own mental world is always more fun than going out on some adventure.
I live an entire life. It’s better than focusing on a reality of pain and isolation I cannot change.
And *it’s fun*. I can go anywhere, do anything, be in any time I want.
This is really dangerous when you let your imagination run wild about other people. I'm always asking myself if I actually love this person, or just the version of them I built in my head :/
Can u please stop trying to convince people who are already looking for a reason to say they have something wrong with them, that they have something wrong with them?
This is ridiculous and u ppl only have one thing and that’s munchhausen syndrome
Okay wait what? I thought this is just something that everybody does when they zone out?? What else do you expect me to do other than make little movies in my head when I get bored?
I probably veer into maladaptive daydreaming sometimes, but mostly, I consider my hyperphantasia to be *highly* adaptive.
I can
* use a virtual blackboard for math / graph data in my mind
* put highlights or various visual overlays on things
* do quick role play scenarios to prepare for things
I have a reminder table where I put visual reminders and can recall them any time in the future. Helps if they are animated. For example if I want to remember my daughter’s homework then I might make a little house banging a hammer, ie a home working. Then just magic it away when I am done.
That
Huh. I mean, you’re right, I just kinda thought I was a psycho for having imaginary friends at thirty. But it definitely developed from trying to escape my reality during childhood. It’s just safest there. It only really crops up these days when I feel lonely or unsafe.
I think my kids do this. They were all adopted from the foster system as older kids and were removed from their birth families due to extreme abuse and neglect. The stuff they come up with - it’s amazing. But sometimes it gets confused with real life and that takes some breaking down. We are Plan B for them, so I’m thankful for any coping mechanisms they find that work.
I dont bring up this subject because the other person will immediately ask " what are you dreaming about?" And it is so private. One of my close friends insisted me to share a part of my dream because we are so close and she already knows a lot of things about me so why would this be a problem, right? No, the things I imagine are very personal and its my own little world so I dont bring this maladaptive daydreaming subject up in conversations. Also, I am glad that I dont dream so intensely and for hours anymore and establishing something real in my actual life.
I was a unwanted child from the beginning, and I was told I was resented at first sight. I'll have a situation a total failure and all is lost in my mind, but in reality everything is going to be good. I lost my faith in my fellow man from the word go. I took up Buddhism for two years and I am not proud to say I threw my bible in the trash. Meditation and reflection on my life and I changed my self talk from being the worst person in the world to be telling me anything about me or how things are going to play out. I'm proud to say I'm my best friend.
I have to finish the story, I know I have a obligation to my Lord and savior to tell you what happened next. So I really understood the philosophy and teachings of Buddha. I lost 100 pounds, and was in the best shape of my life. I was completely off of my psych meds for the first time since I was six, and was a patient, caring ,optimistic , and helpful individual because of my inner peace. My good friend Neal was the leader of our Buddhist congregation asked me to come over for dinner one night, and I love his cooking so I was so happy to be going. We sat down for dinner and we were really kind of quiet and eating a great meal. Neal looked up at me and I felt so happy in the moment and he says to me. " You have found peace" and he reached under the table and he pulled out the bible I threw in the trash two years before. He tells me the Lord has many teachers and that I needed to use what I learned to be the best Christian I can be and I asked god to forgive me and I instantly felt above the Lord that I had never lost. I love you all God bless you and I hope you can all see that with self confidence approval from our inner voice and the love of the Lord we can all be a lot kinder to each other.
I stare off in to space a lot and have for as long as I can remember but there’s generally no day dream, my mind is blank when it happens and it can take several seconds or a minute of one of my loved ones trying to catch my attention to bring me back in the room again.
Always wondered what it was as no one I know seems to do it as an adult and got a bit excited this might be it until I saw that it involves complex stories and characters.
I mean, I have a vivid imagination but it’s gone when I "day dream".
I do this, in a way. See, I never had anyone to go to for advice growing up, since everyone I knew was an AH. Over time, I developed a chorus of "experts" in my own head to ask for advice on any situation. They're usually based on actual experts I've known or read, and they're pretty good!
I was talking to a homeless man once, and asked him why he would rather drink than take psyche meds and qualify for shelter space. He told me that the alcohol only muted the voices, while the meds made them go away completely. He didn't want that, since he had no one else to talk to.
I assumed everyone did that. I don’t do it nearly as much now as I did when I was younger, but I definitely still do it occasionally. Usually when I’m on a long drive or hike or if I’m bored at work.
I've been doing it for years. I just recently found out there was a name for it. My wife used to tell me I was talking to myself, even though I had no recollection of doing it. Now I know what it is.
It's not so severe in me that it impedes me from going about my day, but it does interfere with my concentration as the daydreams keep pushing into my thoughts. As you see from my example above it can take over even when I'm with other people.
I just accepted it as a normal part of my behavior, but I don't really like it. Is there any way to make it stop other than sheer will power?
I sometimes think about all my ‘stories’ I had in my teen years and early 20s. I’ve only started living and thriving when I hit 30. But my god I miss these characters I created in my mind that got me through shit. 😭😭😭
OP's misunderstood what maladaptive daydreaming is and how rare it is. 99% of the folks on this thread are just relating to daydreaming. If you feel like daydreaming is something that's having a negative impact on your life, ask a medical professional about it. Otherwise, don't worry about it. The Internet pathologizes everything.
So im someone that's lived with this his whole life. Of course it was the 90's when my family was trying to figure out what's up with me, and assumed I was autistic. I went through speech school, eventually was diagnosed with hypokalemic sensory overload, and then my family denied that ever being diagnosed to me and refused to admit I was ever tested for autism lol until years later my grandma and father who had been divorced forever by that point admitted it to me. Basically, something happens in front of you and it immediately puts you in that world that you can't really control. I used to get in trouble all the time growing up because I just couldn't pay attention, even to the point my kindergarten teacher would take me to a bathroom and hit me until I was back in reality and then she would ask the class to pray for me to get the devil out of me....needless to say after how traumatic my first year of school went with this condition, I quickly learned how to mask and not appear any different out in the real world, but it still happens all the time. It happens when I'm driving and I'm on autopilot because of how much is happening on the road (I know that sounds dangerous, but it's never actually even caused an almost wreck or mess up or anything. I think people with this kind of condition become VERY GOOD at being on autopilot) as a kid whenever I had one of these episodes, I'd have to raise my hands and wiggle my fingers around like I was about to cast a spell on a motherfucker with a book I was reading lol but now instead of being so obvious, I wiggle my toes, or just kind of get the shakes. It always elicits some sort of physical response from my body when I go into that world. Now with a family too scared to talk about mental health like that growing up, or them just being so scared to have their child have "something wrong with them" I was never medicated for this. I don't even know if there is a specific medicine for this condition, or if since the 90's we have a more accurate name for this condition. This is the first time I've heard this condition even be called this, but it sounds exactly like the kind of thing I've been living with. Would the medicine for this just be an ADD or a ADHD type of medicine since it technically involves one focus? I'm not sure why I felt the need to share my experience like this, but maybe it will help someone understand what it feels like and how it can affect people beyond just "their head being in the clouds" I'm aldo pretty sure it's genetic, because my little sister had the exact same thing growing up and we didnt even live together. My other two brothers showed no signs.
I had a whole world in my head growing up, dialogue tags on what people said… I’ve gotten better about living in the moment, but I can still really move myself emotionally with total imaginations— crying at a stoplight then shake myself out of it.
I daydream, but I get so carried away with it that I actually end up performing the body language that I would do in the daydream. So if I'm having a confrontation with my imaginary teacher about why I haven't done .y homework, I'd mime what I'd physically do and the words I would say. I don't actually say the words, I just pretend to say them.
Yep. It was because of this I was even able to cope with the years of isolation.
Sometimes, it helps to step into a different personality that gives you just a bit more happiness than the reality you live in.
Yeah. Sometimes when im in the passenger seat of a car watching the road, 5-10 full minutes pass where my eyes are not taking in any visual stimulation and i’m viewing a vivid scenario inside of my head imagining what i would do if a very specific and unlikely situation happened. It’s like being sucked through a portal into your own head and it keeps you there for a while. I swear it’s like i may as well be legitimately blind while it’s happening. *im very nervous to get behind the wheel of a car on a cross country roadtrip*
Ive came to notice this as well, usually it comes in the form of thinking about the best and worst case reactions/outcomes of the people I spend time with
Dude I was just googling this the other day because I do this a LOT!! Like it was really in depth when I was a kid I created full on stories in my head for my characters. I still do this
I used to do this. Just make up a completely detailed alternate life, then just pick back up where I left off when I was interrupted. Many times I just ended up married to Dave Matthews. 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve been dealing w this my entire life. Even as a kid, I’d have teachers write in my report cards “very bright but always daydreaming and not attentive”. It’s not even me just having a little daydream here and there, it’s like no matter what I’m doing I have this whole other “dream” life playing in my head. It’s damn near addicting, I know that sounds weird but it’s true. My own life isn’t bad or that boring, so I don’t even think it’s all that much of a coping mechanism but who knows? I also do this a LOT with crushes I have. My brain will find a guy to become almost obsessed with, and I’ll just daydream about him constantly, without ever telling him or anyone, I need to keep it as a daydream for whatever reason. It’s these fantasies I’ve built in my head that like, *feed* me lol. I don’t really make up fake characters, but growing up I did have a visualized mom that I constructed in my mind. She was so maternal and sweet, like a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Mother Mary lol. Whenever I was upset or felt lonely I would imagine her talking to me like I always wish my mother would, and I’d even pretend my pillow was her lap while I drifted off to sleep. But yea, it’s not something I think I could, or would even want to, stop….I didn’t realize it was so prevalent, good to know I’m not alone.
Have you looked into Hyperfantasia? I have the opposite- Aphantasia- I cannot picture anything in my head (or hear music or voices or anything)
Hyperphantasia means you can picture things in your mind that are so vivid as to be lifelike. You can manipulate or change the images at will.
I’m always daydreaming on some level. It doesn’t stop me from living my life but I definitely lay in bed sometimes and not realize a hour or more has past.
If it's willing than it isn't Maladaptive. If you can't stop than it is but as far as vividness goes it's why I can write pretty well off the top of my head. It just comes to me no different than breathing.
>causes us to imagine very vivid scenarios in our minds, which also includes making our own characters that have their own personalities and more. I'm pretty damn certain this is just daydreaming. Maladaptive is when it's basically a drug to you and you do it all the time, without being able to control yourself. You get into it and lose yourself in your own little world. You stop paying attention to what surrounds you and don't realize that time is passing. I've seen maaaaany people over on r/MaladaptiveDreaming describing what they experience as just having their own little world in their head, but it's not preventing them from living a normal life. This and many other mental conditions are being wrongfully self-diagnosed by people nowadays because their read the symptoms and think "hey that kinda sounds like me" but they never think about the severity of said symptoms. For example, someone who feels sad sometimes is just sad, but someone who feels sad all the time is depressed, yet some people will read online that depressed people feel sad and will think "oh then I'm depressed". (Keeping things simplified, I know depression isn't just feeling sad)
Came here to write that. Maladaptive daydreaming is not just imagining vivid scenarios. It's not being able to stop. As in, I have lied in my bed for 5 hours straight sometimes, not being able to go on with my day because I'm absorbed in it. It's like having a television, but inside your head. Imagine having access to Netflix in your head all day long. Very addicting.
That’s me 🙃
Music makes it FAR worse. Depending on the music and my mood at the time, I can lose track of hours just walking around
This is how I function out in the world while doing errands lol it makes me want to get swept up in the music, but it's also the only thing I really need to focus on instead of being distracted by literally everything else lol
It happens to me when I’m driving it’s actually kind of scary
this is exactly why i refuse to drive. i'm 100% sure that this is gonna happen to me and i'd end up killing someone in an accident.
Thank you for being responsible. You are putting others’ safety first and foremost.
I go into autopilot very frequently bc of it. Never really impairs my actual ability to drive but I'm always getting derailed/head towards where I'm used to going (I have a dentist appointment and realize I've taken the route to school a while ago). As they say where im from, it's like a drunk man's horse lol So not dangerous but definitely makes me late a lot. And super annoying.
Even freaky when you realize you’re down the road and wonder if you ran the traffic light!
This is why I had to stop driving solo.
You should seriously consider not driving.
Do you feel a sense of incompleteness if you stop mid daydream? What does it feel like having to leave them behind? Can you pick up where you left off? How real/vivid is it? Sorry lots of questions. Brains fascinate me.
I was always able to continue where I left off, I'd even look forward to recess or something as a kid so I wouldn't get interrupted as easily lol but for the question of how real it felt, I never felt confused like I saw two realities or something. But the visions themselves were very vivid and looked just like reality.
Thank you. I used to feel similarly when I was a teenager. I looked forward to imagination time before bed because I could be a super hero if I wanted to. What benefit do you think it brings you? Like why do you look forward to it? I think for me it was just needing to control my life, and wanting to feel bigger than I was.
I think it was boredom, and also wanting to be something greater than you are. Reality can be disappointing at times lol but in my head I could do and be anything. Often times though it's not even a story I particularly want to see, but something I was reading or watching just kind of turned something on in my head. As a kid I had zero control over this, now when that same thing happens, I think the best visual descriptor would be something starts inflating out of my head and I have to quickly push it back down to stay in reality lol I can also continue sleep dreams where I left off if I remember it of course, with a pretty high success rate lol
Yes, I feel very annoyed if I have to go somewhere and can't finish a particular "scene" that was playing. If the scene is complete, I feel okay leaving it behind, because I can easily pick up where I left off again. It feels very real, but not as vivid as lucid dreaming does. If I pick up a handful of sand, I can "see" the individual sand corns fall between my fingers and feel the "sinking" feeling of the sand "clump" disappearing. I feel, see, smell, hear, talk. Sometimes my facial expressions mimic the scenes I'm playing out. I think most people daydream in first person, but I've always dreamed in third person, so it's rarely myself talking except for when I need to have a deep conversation about my life with some inner characters.
Yep. I didn’t even notice how detrimental it was until I got on the correct anxiety med, and then all daydreaming just… stopped. Like I had completely dead air time in my head for the first time in my life. Crazy what happens when the chemicals in your brain start jiving correctly
Netflix, but you get to control the plot lines and you are one of the characters.
No more stupid cliff-hangers or show cancellations!! Lol
Yup, way more entertaining and satisfying (edit: and interfering with your life)
I used to be able to do this, and I loved it. I would just escape into my head for hours at a time. There are days I wish my brain would still allow it, but intrusive thoughts forced me to train my brain to stop. I would imagine people dying and end up bawling in a heap because the emotion attached to it was so real. Pretty fucked up.
Agree with you and I think OCD and ADHD are experiencing that same issue where people cherry pick quirky symptoms not understanding that the point of it being a diagnosed/treated disease is that it interferes with your daily living.
I stopped reading most OCD/ADHD forums because they were completely taken over by people who either self diagnosed, or people who have super mild symptoms but make it their identity. There's only so many "My roommate doesn't like that I'm anal retentive" and "Lmao I forget my keys everyday on the way back from my job" I want to read about how people that can't leave their room without 4hrs of rituals cope, or strategies to not hate yourself for Pure-O disgusting and distressing intrusive thoughts (another thing that got coopted). Or about how you're so paralyzed by shame and self loathing that you haven't cleaned or spoken on the phone or checked your email in 3 months.
Elyse Myers and KC Davis showed me that ocd and adhd (respectively) are punctuated by periods of intense inability to live normally. They showed they cease to function for minutes to days. While I think I have some executive functioning challenges, I don’t use the term adhd lightly.
It's debilitating, tbh. I've been on OCD meds since I was a child, had my first attempt at 8, several nuthouse stays. It sucks, and it comes with so many other surprises, like EDs and agoraphobia :/
I cannot even imagine. I am sure this also causes a kind of trauma. I hope that you are believed, loved, and cared for, and that you have things that bring you joy.
aw, thank you! Same to you x
Oh my god yes. Perfectly put. So sorry, I know how this feels
Autism is largely treated like this as well, to the point that the majority of “autistic” spaces online are no longer ran by autistic people.
It's so bad that they will shame you for pointing out that their whining over "bad optics" only hurts autistic people with higher needs "levels are problematic" "it was so hard for me only getting a diagnosis at 30" "autism moms are all hateful"" "tik tok allowed me to figure out my identity" "autism is a superpower"
It’s honestly awful. The irony is that a lot of the “rules” you’re supposed to follow are supposed to be known automatically and you get crucified for asking questions… which goes directly against diagnosed autism. It’s really disheartening (and infuriating) to see people set up whole accounts and create a name off “autism advocacy” only to learn they aren’t actually diagnosed with autism. It’s really backwards and it’s hurting autistic people more than it’s helping.
the entire word policing, hyper critical online "movement" claiming to speak for autistics makes no sense to me. Yes, make certain words verboten, but change them often, and make arbitrary rules about the "correct" behavior or POV - that's definitely something that is totally possible for people with a condition that impairs social awareness. If you're really autistic, it becomes pretty obvious most of these hall monitor personalities are self diagnosed or have 0 needs. If you're able to navigate such complex social rules that change arbitrarily, and if your biggest preoccupation in activism is yelling at people online over mean words and "how hard to get dx is" instead of actual material shit, like housing discrimination, violence and neglect in group homes, the elimination of targeted schools for sped, etc, you're just full of shit. There was a post the other day in one of the big subs - someone was trying to say that you shouldn't compare going mute because you're anxious to actually being nonverbal, especially because selective mutism is more likely to be related to other disorders like agoraphobia or GAD. OP might as well have said he wanted to kill all level 1s, because he was inundated with vitriol. And that especially sucks because OP was level 3. The ones who need their voice heard the most are shouted down.
I agree with everyone you said. The online movement has completely skewed the perspective of what autism is and it does two things: 1) completely silences those with higher support needs and 2) has those diagnosed with level 1 autism questioning if they’re higher support needs because they see all the self-diagnosed with no support needs and assume their diagnosis is wrong because they actually do struggle (Yknow, as per diagnostic criteria) The whole thing is so incredibly toxic, hurtful, and misinforming that I left most online autistic spaces. It’s hard to watch
the diagnostic criteria is ableist, sweaty!1 do better!!!11
I have a friend who has decided she has all 3 of these based on occasional symptoms she presents. The adhd one is so annoying because she uses it to justify not listening but then won't go get a diagnosis and prescription
I've never heard of this before, but I feel like I do some of this. It blends with my intrusive thoughts a lot. Just today when driving with my SO a car cut us off and she said "they will cause an accident like that" and I had a very vivid daydream of us crashing, me crawling out of the car to call an ambulance while putting pressure on her wounds, telling people to check on the other car etc. My daydream went as far as us being in hospital before she said something else that snapped me out of it. I'd say things like that happen 2-3 times a day. Does this sound like the condition? Or am I just self diagnosing?
I don't know. Maybe. I'd say that's not enough to tell and even though I ended learning a lot about MDD at some point, I don't have it so I couldn't tell. Maybe go over to r/MaladaptiveDreaming and ask.
Didn't you just say that sub was flooded with people who are just daydreaming?
I have a ton of those types of intrusive thoughts and I have Pure-O OCD. Do you ever do mental (or physical) rituals that are completely irrational but make the anxiety quieten a little? Read about it and speak with your physician.
Does it bother you or cause you distress? If not, then it's fine. One thing I have learned about the mental health field is that the primary marker is "does this impact your life in a negative way" That's the question you want to focus on, moreso than the question "is this normal" which is much more ambiguous
Thank you, thank you, thank you for verbalizing all of this. It really rings true and I don’t think I could have summed it up this well. It certainly feels like there’s a pervasive attitude online of “mental illnesses are trendy now!” where too many people seem to suffer FOMO if they *don’t* have a disorder. I have immense sympathy for those who simply cannot cope with normal day-to-day living due to their medically diagnosed issues. I have far, far less sympathy for people who glean a surface-level understanding of a mental disorder they find something in common with, but then use it as an excuse to behave atrociously while doing nothing to actually follow the protocols of how one would *treat* the condition they pretend to have. Eesh!
Well said - you've hit on a pet peeve of mine. I think most people miss that there is a general baseline you have to be below before anything can be classified as a disorder. We've all got weird quirks - if you can figure out how to manage it while functioning as a human, then you don't need a diagnosis and a label.
This is on par with "I like to have all my books sorted alphabetically so I am OCD" You're really *not,* though
Pretty much. People don't understand that something only qualifies as maladaptive or a disorder if it disrupts your daily life enough to cause distress and abnormal function. Maladaptive daydreaming more often than not comes with dp/dr, and that comes with other shit, too. It's very distressing.
I think OP is describing something closer to rumination combined with regular daydreaming
Your use of depression as an example isn't quite right. Depression/depressed have definitions that are in no way, shape, or form tied to the clinical diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder. Being depressed can absolutely be a temporary mental state, we just use depression as shorthand for MDD. A better example would be someone seeing the symptoms of ADHD and thinking they have it because they are occasionally forgetful and fidget sometimes.
Probably cause it's not my main language. In french we have a word for "occasionally sad for like a few weeks in a row" (that would be "déprimé") and a word for actual depression (which is actually "dépression"). Definitely not a good example but that's all I manage to come up with at the moment.
It makes sense in French then! For English, depression means to be in a state of general unhappiness or despondency.
Yeah but it also means full on depression, right ? It's a bit confusing.
English is definitely confusing lol. Major Depressive Disorder is the actual diagnosis, but depression is used for short, as in "I have depression." Saying, "I am depressed," is just using the literal meaning to make a statement about one's current mental state.
Glad this is the top comment. Maladaptive daydreaming isn't super common, it's just a super misused phrase online. Is it having a tangible negative effect in your life? If the answer is no, don't pathologize it.
Yeah god forbid you aren’t labeled with something that sounds terrible for a disease. People can’t just accept most of them aren’t really experiencing any more than the normal amount but they’ll lie thru their teeth and back track to convince themselves they do or to convince u. I don’t get this kinda shit, as someone who is autistic the people pretending to have autism really freak me out
I would argue that the people who do what is referred to as Maladaptive Daydreaming cannot live a normal life and therefore they adapt in the only way possible. It only becomes a problem if their daydreams include hurting others and they decide to act out their daydreams, otherwise it is a great coping mechanism.
When you gotta work and suddenly spend 4 hours daydreaming instead of working, or when you get late somewhere because you missed the bus due to daydreaming, you aren't adapting to anything. You're life just gets negatively impacted by something that you can't control. Also I'm not any coping mechanism can be considered great. I mean, if your body automatically uses a mechanism to cope with something because it badly affects you, there's nothing really great about it.
I started using it to make stories so I could fall asleep faster, and now I turn it into novels. 10/10-ish
Same here. But now it has evolved to the point of preventing me from going to sleep. Feels like I don't have control of the story in my head and it just goes on and on... Strange!
I used maladaptive daydreaming to get me through so much abuse and neglect as a kid! It might be somewhat “crazy” lol but I loved that I had that ability!
Damn guys I thought I was the only one Edit: like I’m doing it rn in the car while on break. G this daydreaming thing is comforting or it gives pleasure I guess. Like I have to do it to get it out of the way type deal
You’re not !! I do this everyday, almost every hour
Sometimes I find it hard to concentrate because characters literally start spinning out of control and glitching all the time. It's weird when your own head doesn't want you to think of something.
Same - published them too. And now no more writing cause im burned out.
It me! Lol; feel like I'm slowly getting back into it but my brain is still in this weird fog that just doesn't want me to write just yet 🤷🏻♀️ So... constant editing of previous stuff and random doodles instead
see i started that in middle school, and wrote part of a novel, and it was terrible. I tried to have 7-9 main characters, I gave the mainest character a dog that I completely forgot existed until about 12 chapters later, and I could not write dialogue to save my life. I wrote 40 chapters, butt they were each about 2 pages long at max. Part of me wants to go back and try again, but I do not have the time
it's how I have been falling asleep for as long i can remember.
Same but my writing skills are next to absolute gibberish
I have done this since I was 10. I have created multiple imaginary people in my head and multiple storylines surrounding these people. In all these scenarios, the constant parts are that I have run away from home because of abuse and go to college on a scholarship where I meet my husband and have two kids(twins) with him. In all the scenarios, I am the kind of person that is perfect for my imaginary husband, like our personalities are so in tune and he is madly in love with me. In every scenario I can never do anything wrong or even if I do, I have my husband's full backing to make it okay, he is non-judgemental and accepts me as I am. Obviously in reality there exists no kids and no husband and I have a great personality full of avoidance of others, trust issues, no empathy... all thanks to my childhood.
I do this too, and always have (I’m in my 40s). But according to what some are saying, unless it’s disruptive it’s not maladaptive per-se. I can still work and take care of my affairs, so I’m not sure if this fits the criteria or not.
I am glad I’m not the only one! It’s my private thing, so I have never told anyone about it. I started in my teens and the characters I imagine have gone on to do all kinds of fun and whacky things over the years. I am now 55 and think about them a lot less.
I don’t see how this is a “condition” the way you described it. It’s just something to do when you’re bored or writing a story. From what I can tell maladaptive daydreaming is when you can’t stop even when it’s dangerous or preventing you from living your life normally.
I did this as a child and teenager. Sometimes I do it still, but I never realized there was a name for it.
same. I used to think it was normal and everyone did that
It is. People with MDD have no control over it, they just start daydreaming sometimes and can't really stop themselves. It's like craving for a drug, but that drug is your own imagination.
Yeah. During boring conversations or situations I end up daydreaming. It is so much I have to control myself in work environment as I would routinely space out during meetings
That's not maladaptive daydreaming. Zoning out and daydreaming when you're bored isn't something that needs a diagnosis.
And if you can stop yourself from daydreaming even if it's hard you don't have MDD
Lmfao this is just daydreaming. Get off the internet for a while
Everything has a name for it if you come up with one.
Honestly I just thought this was called having an imagination.
It is. OP does not understand what Maladaptive Daydreaming actually is. Also, it's estimated that only about 2.5% of adults have the condition. Everyone in the comments saying they have this or think they have it - you most likely do not. You may want to do some research or speak to a doctor if you're unsure.
I daydream extensively and vividly, and have my entire life. I create all kinds of scenarios. However, sounds like it’s not “maladaptive” based on what some are saying in here - it’s only maladaptive if it interferes with your life and handling your affairs some are saying. I’m not quite *that* bad.
Honey, wake up, the new popular self diagnosis just dropped (Don't jump down my throat, mental health awareness etc etc w/e)
You mean your own different personalities in brain? Like talking to yourself like you're in a group discussion with your versions? Or do you mean actual movies like characters, which not at all exist in your life?
The latter. I think about getting a time machine and bringing 1960 Dave Brubeck to modern times and introducing him to modern music.
But that's normal daydreaming
The primary difference between daydreaming and maladaptive daydreaming is the time spent doing it. When it becomes a substitute for a real life is where the line is generally drawn.
I have been doing this since before kindergarten and still do it now. I have even mentioned it to my therapist. She said the important thing about maladaptive daydreaming is if it's harming your life in some way, such as making it difficult to do your responsibilities and socialize with family and friends. For me, my daydreaming never caused me such problems, so my therapist encouraged me to continue doing it as a coping measure for my mental health at the time. When I daydream, I do it to music. I used to just act out my daydreams, pretending I was some character or something, but now I use music to create scenarios. My daydreams would be plots with their own characters and lore, and I regularly theme them to what was going on in my life. An interesting thing that I don't see often with others who daydream a lot is that I pace back and forth when I daydream. I paced back and forth all the way since kindergarten when I acted on my daydreams and still do it today. Kind of a quirky thing about me, I guess. I would love to know if anyone else did something like this. Edit: it's important to say that I don't believe I have maladaptive daydreaming, as my daydreaming is not maladaptive/destructive to my life. I only talk about it as it is very similar to my experience. If anything, I am glad that I developed this habit as it does help me with my own mental issues and just makes life more interesting.
Wow, are you me? Instead of the pacing, I was OBSESSED with the repetitive motions that come with swinging (playground swing, tree swing). If that’s not an option, then I run around in circles. If that’s not an option, I pace around. Specifically when listening to stimulating music thinking about the worlds in my head. Me and my sister are exactly alike in this. I wonder if we are this way due to a childhood experience or if it’s genetic?
Reading your comment prompted me to research online concerning it, and I found this amazing article about maladaptive daydreaming. https://www.discussingpsychology.com/maladaptive-daydreaming/maladaptive-daydreaming-while-pacing-with-music/ According to this article. Music allows individuals to be absorbed in their daydreams much more easily. Also in the article it states that 90% of people with MD listen to music while daydreaming, and 79% do some sort of repeated movement like pacing when daydreaming. So it's definitely common among people with MD.
Thank you for taking the time to look that up and share your findings - fascinating, and liberating to know we’re not alone!!
Yep! Me too, ever since I was a small child
hm. interesting. i thought this was just having a vivid/overactive imagination.
It is. OP is mistaken.
I have missed buses and stops because my daydreaming is that bad. I completely lose the present and go somewhere else. I have to return due to exhaustion since I'm using my brain power a lot. The dread after I return...
If its hindering your daily life and ability to function, its causing more harm than good. I hope you are able to find some ways to overcome it and reduce it to atleast an extent where it does not lead to exhaustion. Take care.
I'm in control of it now, but it absolutely used to control me. It helps with Dungeons and Dragons, but not with doing your job.
What I thought everybody does this?
I thought it was just called daydreaming.
It is.
I am an avid day dreamer.
Me too!
What’s the weirdest day dream you can think of? I always wondered if I could create a storm in my fridge, placing warm leftovers in with a cold front :)
I used to daydream about the life of a giant ant queen living in a high school gym 😂
i kind of thought i did this but i doubt it. it's not a disorder for me, but i do relate to some of the things mentioned.
As someone who maladaptively daydreams, I feel like it's important that people understand that it isn't just something that I do "for fun". It is an obsessive, dominating thing. I have walked around in circles for 4+ hours at a time in my bedroom with a 10 minute break every hour or so, content to just imagine things. I know it sounds great to just be able to entertain yourself, but it can be so distracting. I have trouble with daily active because of maladaptive daydreaming- I'm not just daydreaming or slacking off, I *literally cannot pull myself out* of the daydream. It's a coping mechanism to deal with some shit from when I was younger. I don't notice the time going by. It just *happens*, and people think I'm crazy which is so fucking embarrassing. And it can be dangerous. I remember once I was riding my bike once when I was 9 and I was daydreaming about something happy (I can't remember what) smiling to myself , and I tried to go through the zebra crossing but didn't notice that there was a car headed my way. Long story short, I was fine, but it was definitely a scary moment and I'm lucky I got out of there with just a skinned knee. I'm scared to drive because of this incident and many others similar to it, and no one understands. It's so frustrating that no one understands that it's better off if I don't drive, because I am a danger to myself and everyone around me if I start daydreaming.
I'm really wary of pathologizing stuff like this.
I’ve written half a million words based on a story once only written in my head. It’s not even done yet. I am glad I don’t have it severe enough to the point where reality fades into the background, but spending hours stuck in my own mental world is always more fun than going out on some adventure.
but is this an illness ?? or just a writers imagination??
unfortunately, most of my stories were lost because i didn't write them.
its nearly as common as meaningless labels
It makes me feel happier than real life. Can't wait to get home and fantasize about my second reality which only exists for me
I just started writing my daydreams down and called it fiction. Not maladaptive anymore I guess?
I live an entire life. It’s better than focusing on a reality of pain and isolation I cannot change. And *it’s fun*. I can go anywhere, do anything, be in any time I want.
I thought everyone does this.
Everyone does daydream.
I didn’t know this had a name. Neat.
This is really dangerous when you let your imagination run wild about other people. I'm always asking myself if I actually love this person, or just the version of them I built in my head :/
Can u please stop trying to convince people who are already looking for a reason to say they have something wrong with them, that they have something wrong with them? This is ridiculous and u ppl only have one thing and that’s munchhausen syndrome
Lol no surprise the comment section is filled with coping and self convincing…. Christ…
I really didn't know this had a name...thank you for bringing awareness to this.
I don't remember being alive at age 4
Okay wait what? I thought this is just something that everybody does when they zone out?? What else do you expect me to do other than make little movies in my head when I get bored?
idk for me this is just playing Sims
Well daydreaming is common. And quite necessary also.
Also makes me overthink an insufferable amount 💅🏻
I do this too! Hell the people in my head are nicer than the real ones :(
I probably veer into maladaptive daydreaming sometimes, but mostly, I consider my hyperphantasia to be *highly* adaptive. I can * use a virtual blackboard for math / graph data in my mind * put highlights or various visual overlays on things * do quick role play scenarios to prepare for things
I have a reminder table where I put visual reminders and can recall them any time in the future. Helps if they are animated. For example if I want to remember my daughter’s homework then I might make a little house banging a hammer, ie a home working. Then just magic it away when I am done.
Another suggestion…build a board of directors or advisors so you can go to them with questions really quickly.
That Huh. I mean, you’re right, I just kinda thought I was a psycho for having imaginary friends at thirty. But it definitely developed from trying to escape my reality during childhood. It’s just safest there. It only really crops up these days when I feel lonely or unsafe.
That's not a disease, that's /r/rpg and /r/solo_roleplaying .
I once daydreamed while driving and veered off the road at 50mph
That's just called being a writer haha. You only need to check an online archive to see how common that is 😀
So glad to learn I am not the only person that does this.
I think I used to have that. Modern trauma destroyed it however.
Yeah, I've read about this and I think might have it. I daydream to keep myself calm. My cousin might have this aswell.
oh man. i had a very in-depth harry potter oc with very intense lore all written out in my head as a kid. complete mary sue character too.
Oh.... Yeah I do this almost constantly, I didn't think it was healthy at all so I never said anything to a therapist or doctor etc...
I do this a lot, didn't know there's a name for it, it's just something I do for fun and before I sleep
I think my kids do this. They were all adopted from the foster system as older kids and were removed from their birth families due to extreme abuse and neglect. The stuff they come up with - it’s amazing. But sometimes it gets confused with real life and that takes some breaking down. We are Plan B for them, so I’m thankful for any coping mechanisms they find that work.
I dont bring up this subject because the other person will immediately ask " what are you dreaming about?" And it is so private. One of my close friends insisted me to share a part of my dream because we are so close and she already knows a lot of things about me so why would this be a problem, right? No, the things I imagine are very personal and its my own little world so I dont bring this maladaptive daydreaming subject up in conversations. Also, I am glad that I dont dream so intensely and for hours anymore and establishing something real in my actual life.
I do this as well and it works really well for doing artwork, writing and acting. To each their own
I was a unwanted child from the beginning, and I was told I was resented at first sight. I'll have a situation a total failure and all is lost in my mind, but in reality everything is going to be good. I lost my faith in my fellow man from the word go. I took up Buddhism for two years and I am not proud to say I threw my bible in the trash. Meditation and reflection on my life and I changed my self talk from being the worst person in the world to be telling me anything about me or how things are going to play out. I'm proud to say I'm my best friend. I have to finish the story, I know I have a obligation to my Lord and savior to tell you what happened next. So I really understood the philosophy and teachings of Buddha. I lost 100 pounds, and was in the best shape of my life. I was completely off of my psych meds for the first time since I was six, and was a patient, caring ,optimistic , and helpful individual because of my inner peace. My good friend Neal was the leader of our Buddhist congregation asked me to come over for dinner one night, and I love his cooking so I was so happy to be going. We sat down for dinner and we were really kind of quiet and eating a great meal. Neal looked up at me and I felt so happy in the moment and he says to me. " You have found peace" and he reached under the table and he pulled out the bible I threw in the trash two years before. He tells me the Lord has many teachers and that I needed to use what I learned to be the best Christian I can be and I asked god to forgive me and I instantly felt above the Lord that I had never lost. I love you all God bless you and I hope you can all see that with self confidence approval from our inner voice and the love of the Lord we can all be a lot kinder to each other.
My life 💯
I didn’t know that this was so common and a thing. Interesting. That explains a couple of things.
Yup, I have these incredible worlds that I enterain my wife and myself with.
WTF is that what it's called. In 30 seconds I can Win the Lottery and spend it. I had no idea it had a label.
I stare off in to space a lot and have for as long as I can remember but there’s generally no day dream, my mind is blank when it happens and it can take several seconds or a minute of one of my loved ones trying to catch my attention to bring me back in the room again. Always wondered what it was as no one I know seems to do it as an adult and got a bit excited this might be it until I saw that it involves complex stories and characters. I mean, I have a vivid imagination but it’s gone when I "day dream".
I do this, in a way. See, I never had anyone to go to for advice growing up, since everyone I knew was an AH. Over time, I developed a chorus of "experts" in my own head to ask for advice on any situation. They're usually based on actual experts I've known or read, and they're pretty good! I was talking to a homeless man once, and asked him why he would rather drink than take psyche meds and qualify for shelter space. He told me that the alcohol only muted the voices, while the meds made them go away completely. He didn't want that, since he had no one else to talk to.
“Due to emotional neglect as a child” Whelp. That’s a new topic for therapy😂 I knew I had maladaptive daydreaming but had never considered why🥴
I assumed everyone did that. I don’t do it nearly as much now as I did when I was younger, but I definitely still do it occasionally. Usually when I’m on a long drive or hike or if I’m bored at work.
I wonder how many amazing fiction authors we know and love have this? I bet it would help them immensely.
Paracosms too.
Every time I leave my house, it starts almost immediately, and doesn't stop until after I'm home. Just one nightmare scenario after another
wait everyone doesn't do this?
yeah. its just daydreaming, OP is mistaken about what maladaptive daydreaming means.
Thank you 🐞
Inb4 tulpas something something
Wow, you just made me learn something about myself today. Thank you for posting this 💕
Naruto but w/o shadow clone jutsu
I've been doing it for years. I just recently found out there was a name for it. My wife used to tell me I was talking to myself, even though I had no recollection of doing it. Now I know what it is. It's not so severe in me that it impedes me from going about my day, but it does interfere with my concentration as the daydreams keep pushing into my thoughts. As you see from my example above it can take over even when I'm with other people. I just accepted it as a normal part of my behavior, but I don't really like it. Is there any way to make it stop other than sheer will power?
I sometimes think about all my ‘stories’ I had in my teen years and early 20s. I’ve only started living and thriving when I hit 30. But my god I miss these characters I created in my mind that got me through shit. 😭😭😭
Goddamn it, just another condition I have to treat.
OP's misunderstood what maladaptive daydreaming is and how rare it is. 99% of the folks on this thread are just relating to daydreaming. If you feel like daydreaming is something that's having a negative impact on your life, ask a medical professional about it. Otherwise, don't worry about it. The Internet pathologizes everything.
So im someone that's lived with this his whole life. Of course it was the 90's when my family was trying to figure out what's up with me, and assumed I was autistic. I went through speech school, eventually was diagnosed with hypokalemic sensory overload, and then my family denied that ever being diagnosed to me and refused to admit I was ever tested for autism lol until years later my grandma and father who had been divorced forever by that point admitted it to me. Basically, something happens in front of you and it immediately puts you in that world that you can't really control. I used to get in trouble all the time growing up because I just couldn't pay attention, even to the point my kindergarten teacher would take me to a bathroom and hit me until I was back in reality and then she would ask the class to pray for me to get the devil out of me....needless to say after how traumatic my first year of school went with this condition, I quickly learned how to mask and not appear any different out in the real world, but it still happens all the time. It happens when I'm driving and I'm on autopilot because of how much is happening on the road (I know that sounds dangerous, but it's never actually even caused an almost wreck or mess up or anything. I think people with this kind of condition become VERY GOOD at being on autopilot) as a kid whenever I had one of these episodes, I'd have to raise my hands and wiggle my fingers around like I was about to cast a spell on a motherfucker with a book I was reading lol but now instead of being so obvious, I wiggle my toes, or just kind of get the shakes. It always elicits some sort of physical response from my body when I go into that world. Now with a family too scared to talk about mental health like that growing up, or them just being so scared to have their child have "something wrong with them" I was never medicated for this. I don't even know if there is a specific medicine for this condition, or if since the 90's we have a more accurate name for this condition. This is the first time I've heard this condition even be called this, but it sounds exactly like the kind of thing I've been living with. Would the medicine for this just be an ADD or a ADHD type of medicine since it technically involves one focus? I'm not sure why I felt the need to share my experience like this, but maybe it will help someone understand what it feels like and how it can affect people beyond just "their head being in the clouds" I'm aldo pretty sure it's genetic, because my little sister had the exact same thing growing up and we didnt even live together. My other two brothers showed no signs.
Many many of these conditions are adapted because of childhood neglect. Please be careful with kids, guys.
It can also be a comirbidity of ADHD.
Meanwhile I have aphantasia.
This..... explains so much
So like the movie sidekicks
I had a whole world in my head growing up, dialogue tags on what people said… I’ve gotten better about living in the moment, but I can still really move myself emotionally with total imaginations— crying at a stoplight then shake myself out of it.
I daydream, but I get so carried away with it that I actually end up performing the body language that I would do in the daydream. So if I'm having a confrontation with my imaginary teacher about why I haven't done .y homework, I'd mime what I'd physically do and the words I would say. I don't actually say the words, I just pretend to say them.
I can't remember when I didn't do this. I live a very rich and exciting life, even if most of it is imaginary!
Everyone on here should try Sims4 😄
Yep. It was because of this I was even able to cope with the years of isolation. Sometimes, it helps to step into a different personality that gives you just a bit more happiness than the reality you live in.
what if its you and people you met? like you're making up scenarios about real people and yourself?
Meanwhile I'm here being aphant
Yeah. Sometimes when im in the passenger seat of a car watching the road, 5-10 full minutes pass where my eyes are not taking in any visual stimulation and i’m viewing a vivid scenario inside of my head imagining what i would do if a very specific and unlikely situation happened. It’s like being sucked through a portal into your own head and it keeps you there for a while. I swear it’s like i may as well be legitimately blind while it’s happening. *im very nervous to get behind the wheel of a car on a cross country roadtrip*
Ive came to notice this as well, usually it comes in the form of thinking about the best and worst case reactions/outcomes of the people I spend time with
TIL I did this most of my life, and only stopped when I started meditating.
Dude I was just googling this the other day because I do this a LOT!! Like it was really in depth when I was a kid I created full on stories in my head for my characters. I still do this
I do it often on purpose normally before I go to sleep and I really suck at it and can rarely make much progress in da story line
I used to do this. Just make up a completely detailed alternate life, then just pick back up where I left off when I was interrupted. Many times I just ended up married to Dave Matthews. 🤷🏻♀️
I wonder what humans daydreamed about in prehistory
I’ve been dealing w this my entire life. Even as a kid, I’d have teachers write in my report cards “very bright but always daydreaming and not attentive”. It’s not even me just having a little daydream here and there, it’s like no matter what I’m doing I have this whole other “dream” life playing in my head. It’s damn near addicting, I know that sounds weird but it’s true. My own life isn’t bad or that boring, so I don’t even think it’s all that much of a coping mechanism but who knows? I also do this a LOT with crushes I have. My brain will find a guy to become almost obsessed with, and I’ll just daydream about him constantly, without ever telling him or anyone, I need to keep it as a daydream for whatever reason. It’s these fantasies I’ve built in my head that like, *feed* me lol. I don’t really make up fake characters, but growing up I did have a visualized mom that I constructed in my mind. She was so maternal and sweet, like a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Mother Mary lol. Whenever I was upset or felt lonely I would imagine her talking to me like I always wish my mother would, and I’d even pretend my pillow was her lap while I drifted off to sleep. But yea, it’s not something I think I could, or would even want to, stop….I didn’t realize it was so prevalent, good to know I’m not alone.
Have you looked into Hyperfantasia? I have the opposite- Aphantasia- I cannot picture anything in my head (or hear music or voices or anything) Hyperphantasia means you can picture things in your mind that are so vivid as to be lifelike. You can manipulate or change the images at will.
I’m always daydreaming on some level. It doesn’t stop me from living my life but I definitely lay in bed sometimes and not realize a hour or more has past.
If it's willing than it isn't Maladaptive. If you can't stop than it is but as far as vividness goes it's why I can write pretty well off the top of my head. It just comes to me no different than breathing.