Escape To Fantasy? (maladaptive Daydreaming)

[Melody coates]

ok so i suffer from this condition called Maladaptive Daydreaming. i've had it since a young age and my Pyscologist says i used it as a way of escape. i was wondering if any other PTSD suffers have this problem

 

[GWhizz]

I have not yet been officially diagnosed with anything. Though I would say I am a daydreamer. And my partner would say I am a heavy one lol! Though I like to think it helps my creativity. I enjoy time to reflect and be introspective - it helps clear some of the ongoing chaos around me if I'm honest. It can be a bad thing of course as I use it to evade reality sometimes. But like dissociation etc, I think it's a protective/defence mechanism.

Just curious, did your T recommend you try to reduce the amount of daydreaming or feel it was now an unhealthy mechanism in your life?

 

[Melody coates]

she said there is nothing wrong with daydreaming like that at all but it causes problems in my life so she says i should try to reduce it

 

[Fadeaway]

Yes, I am a big maladaptive daydreamer. My therapist said that I shouldn't think of it as maladaptive but as adaptive daydreaming because it has been a tool for me. She wanted me to work on the trauma before I reduced my daydreaming.

 

[BlueOrange]

I'm a huge daydreamer. Less so than before - but that's more because I have less bad stuff to escape from than because I tried to stop.

What is it about your daydreaming that makes it maladaptive? Do you bump into things? Does it prevent you from eating properly, or something like that? Do you rehearse bad scenarios, and then act them out?

 

[digger]

but it causes problems in my life so she says i should try to reduce it

What sort of problems is it causing you?

 

[Melody coates]

i have lost jobs from this problem, i sometimes run in the middle of traffic and almost got hit a couple times. stuff like that

 

[BlueOrange]

Yeah, that's a bit more serious than the daydreaming I've been doing. I've always found it really difficult to try to stop doing something tho - I've only ever succeeded by substituting something else. In this case, being aware of your immediate environment is probably the thing to try to increase. Breath awareness is often a good starting point for that kind of thing.

 

[GWhizz]

I would say I zone out / tune out in certain situations unintentionally. But wouldn't running out mid traffic unaware be moreso dissociation?

 

[Melody coates]

@GWhizz i was somewhat aware of my surroundings when i ran out into traffic but i guess i wasnt paying attention

 

[joeylittle]

What is it about your daydreaming that makes it maladaptive?

Maladaptive Daydreaming isn't yet a clinically recognized term, but it is often used to describe a type of daydreaming in which the person willfully creates fantasy scenarios to escape to in their mind. These can become very real and even cause lost time.

Unlike dissociation or a flashback, MD (I believe) is supposed to start as "normal" daydreaming and slowly develop into (essentially) an addiction to that particular form of escape.

This link is pretty informative:http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15944/1/Can-Maladaptive-Daydreaming-Be-Treated.html

According to Wikipedia (that excellent source of knowledge :bookworm:) it was coined in 2002 by a guy named Eli Somer.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

Yes, I do it, a lot. This:

it is often used to describe a type of daydreaming in which the person willfully creates fantasy scenarios to escape to in their mind. These can become very real and even cause lost time.

My therapist doesn't know though so I can't help you with that part. I haven't been able to tell him yet I'm afraid if I do I wont be able to do it anymore (not that he will say to stop but that I wont be able to reach it my little worlds).