Maladaptive daydreaming.

                     

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                                 Maladaptive daydreaming is a

                                 psychiatric condition. It was

                                 identified by Professor Eliezer

                                 Somer of the University of Haifa in

                                 Israel.

                                 This condition causes intense

                                 daydreaming that distracts a

                                 person from their real life. Many

                                 times, real-life events trigger day

                                 dreams. These events can include:

                                -topics of conversation

                                -sensory stimuli such as noises or

                                 smells

                                -physical experiences

                                 This disorder is not part of the

                                 new edition of the Diagnostic and

                                 Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

                                 (DSM-V). It doesn’t have any official

                                 treatment. But some experts say it is

                                 a real disorder that can have real

                                 effects on a person’s daily life.

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                                 A person who is purported to have

                                 maladaptive daydreaming may have

                                 one or more symptoms of the disorder,

                                 but not necessarily all of them.

                                 Common symptoms include:

                                -extremely vivid daydreams with their

                                 own characters, settings, plots, and

                                 other detailed, story-like features

                                -daydreams triggered by real-life

                                 events

                                -difficulty completing everyday tasks

                                -difficulty sleeping at night

                                -an overwhelming desire to continue

                                 daydreaming

                                -performing repetitive movements

                                 while daydreaming

                                -making facial expressions while

                                 daydreaming

                                -whispering and talking while

                                 daydreaming

                                -daydreaming for lengthy periods

                                 (many minutes to hours)

                                 Experts still aren’t sure what causes

                                 maladaptive daydreaming.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀                      

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                                 There is no universal method used

                                 to diagnose maladaptive

                                 daydreaming. Somer developed the

                                 Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS).

                                 This scale can help determine if a

                                 person is experiencing maladaptive

                                 daydreaming.

                                 The MDS is a 14-part scale. It rates

                                 the five key characteristics of

                                 maladaptive daydreaming:

                                -the content and quality (detail) of

                                 dreams

                                -a person’s ability to control their

                                 dreams and compulsion to dream

                                -the amount of distress caused by

                                 daydreaming

                                -a person’s perceived benefits of

                                 daydreaming

                                -how much daydreaming interferes

                                 with a person’s ability to carry out

                                 their daily activities

                                -People also rate how often they

                                 experience maladaptive daydreaming

                                 symptoms.

                                 Maladaptive daydreaming is often

                                 diagnosed as schizophrenia, which

                                 is a type of psychosis. This is because

                                 people with schizophrenia cannot

                                 differentiate reality from fantasy. But

                                 Somer says maladaptive daydreaming

                                 is not a psychosis because people

                                 with maladaptive daydreaming

                                 recognize that their daydreams aren’t

                                 real.

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                                 Maladaptive daydreaming is believed

                                 to be a natural defense mechanism,

                                 and has been traced back to childhood

                                 trauma. It is believed that children who

                                 experience trauma find ways to escape

                                 by creating a rich imaginary world for

                                 themselves, and that this pattern

                                 sometimes continues into adulthood.

                                 In studies of adults with this tendency,

                                 daydreaming is often described as a

                                 way of coping with difficult feelings

                                 like shame. In their daydreams, they

                                 are able to create different, more ideal

                                 versions of themselves and their lives.

                                 These daydreams become a

                                 replacement for their reality, while

                                 also meeting their emotional needs for

                                 self-worth, connection, and validation.

                                 Often, maladaptive daydreamers

                                 report having complex fantasy lives

                                 that involve other characters,

                                 storylines, and backstories that allow

                                 them to ‘rewrite’ themselves and their

                                 lives.

                                 Many maladaptive daydreamers report

                                 that these storylines play out like a

                                 soap opera or movie in their mind.

                                 Many use music, images, or other

                                 stimuli to intensify their daydreams

                                 and make their daydreams feel even

                                 more vivid and real. The more realistic

                                 these daydreams become, the more

                                 the individual feels they can

                                 disconnect from their own reality,

                                 which often leads to more intense

                                 cravings to continuously engage in

                                 maladaptive daydreaming.

                                 It’s common for maladaptive

                                 daydreamers to become so engrossed

                                 in their daydreams that they make

                                 physical movements, vocalizations and

                                 facial expressions when they are

                                 experiencing these daydreams.

                                 Unfortunately, these elaborate

                                 daydreams can disconnect individuals

                                 further from real life and relationships,

                                 creating a cycle where they need to

                                 continuously retreat to their inner

                                 fantasies in order to meet their own

                                 emotional needs.

                                 You can read here on The CUT about what

                                 it's like when your daydreams are just

                                 as real as your own life. Here, a

                                 36-year-old from Portland, Oregon,

                                 describes just how overwhelming

                                 maladaptive daydreaming can be.

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sources

      s1.

       s2.

       All of the art pieces are by Alexandra Levasseur.

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