Do you have maladaptive daydreaming?

[ms spock]

It is still a thing but it is much less, and it is me thinking through being in the workplace. So marked improvement.

 

[ms spock]

Really struggling with this about a potential job and how it will be, it is like I am imagining all the options so I am prepared, but life is not like that, I am trying to control the future, and that is not possible.

 

[ms spock]

This has taken over my life once again and it is not good.

 

[ms spock]

This has become huge once again, almost taking over my whole life, yet again.

 

[littleoc]

Occasionally I try to ground myself with music. Sometimes it backfires, but it's something. :)

 

[ms spock]

Music is good!

 

[Journeyman]

Oh wow! Yes yes yes! I've done this for as long as I can remember. I am scared to say what mine are....

This entire thread is one of the best details of dissociations and "maladaptive dreaming" that I've seen.

 

[ms spock]

is one of the best details of dissociations and "maladaptive dreaming" that I've seen.

Thanks!

It is like I have a serious narrative going on on my head in parallel to my real life, but the maladjusted daydreaming is often much more since stronger than real life!

 

[ms spock]

This really took over and was so hard to get out of, and I didn't come out of it. I drowned in it.

 

[EveHarrington]

Hugs. Sounds like you’re really working hard.

 

[ms spock]

Thanks so much @EveHarrington I am really trying to do stuff. It is all much slower than you would think.

 

[glass frog]

Not 100% sure that mine is maladaptive daydreaming, but I think it is-- since childhood I often fall asleep to fantasies of being hurt or bad things happening to me to calm down in a weird way.
Then through middle school until this point, I use fiction/TV shows as a poor way to cope and daydreamed about that a lot when I was school.
Very recently, I have started spending good chunks of time daydreaming about reliving trauma, sometimes through characters so there's more distance between myself and what happened to me. I imagine someone helping/comforting me afterwards or being able to openly express how I'm really feeling. It ends up taking a decent amount of time and can be distressing, but also really cathartic (which is why it's hard to stop).
One helpful thing someone else mentioned that helps me as well is listening to music. The only other thing I have found that helps is forcing myself to change environments, because I usually end up doing this when I'm in bed. If I'm out of my room or around others, I'm usually forced to be more present. Doing something that takes a lot of concentration (playing an instrument, writing, work, etc.) may be helpful?
Good luck!