Thread: Does anybody here Maladaptive daydream?

I think everyone on this thread is doing pretty much the same thing. Its just we have different reasons for doing it. And apparently somebody decided if your doing it to escape a reality that sucks you have a mental disorder. I think I did when I was a kid because I liked to fantasize and touch some kind of reality that I wanted in my life.

I dont think it should really be considered a "disorder"... I just think all that time you're in your own head imagining things that have nothing to do with reality is a waste. Why wouldnt you spend that time improving your life... work out, read a book, study, socialize... something productive

Originally Posted by Stryke

I dont think it should really be considered a "disorder"... I just think all that time you're in your own head imagining things that have nothing to do with reality is a waste. Why wouldnt you spend that time improving your life... work out, read a book, study, socialize... something productive

Well...as some of us already said, we have trouble falling asleep at night...so we spend the time fantasizing about whatever. There's nothing else I could be doing with that time which would be more conducive to falling asleep or more enjoyable.

You know...some people read books, or play video games to escape reality. How is spending some time in your own imagination any different? Also, "productive" is completely subjective. What might be productive to one person may not be to another.

That said...I still think there is a distinction between the types of daydreaming. Unless you guys are claiming that you aggressively pace back and forth in your rooms in an advanced state of agitation while you fantasize about such things? Or that you do it so much that it has deleterious effects to your life in some way?

Anything can become a disorder. It's just a matter of how damaging certain behaviors are to the individual. For me, spending a few hours at night imagining things is advantageous, not harmful. There is nothing "maladaptive" about it whatsoever.

Originally Posted by Aquanina

Hyu, it's the same for me. Except I think I've always done it because I'm a creative person, not that it makes me creative because I do it.

That is certainly a possibility and quite an interesting point.
Creativity is quite an interesting thing, I often wonder to what extend people are just born with a creative mind and to what extend you can "learn" to be creative.

Originally Posted by Aquanina

I guess the problem is, that this "Maladaptive Daydreaming"...is characterized as mental dysfunction/coping mechanism and being researched by psychologists and stuff. That's why I do not think this is the correct term for what it is we are doing. If you read my post above where I copied what it says on wikipedia...this does not sound like a correct definition. I had a feeling it would be wrong from the minute I saw the word "maladaptive" which, as I said above, implies abnormalities and dysfunction and is thought to be harmful to an individual. I think we all need to trash this term, it's just not correct.

Well, perhaps some of the people replying are indeed maladaptive daydreaming if they use it as a coping mechanism, etc....or their lives are miserable like saltyseadog said.

Yes, that certainly doesn't sound like what I'm doing.

Originally Posted by Aquanina

Well...as some of us already said, we have trouble falling asleep at night...so we spend the time fantasizing about whatever. There's nothing else I could be doing with that time which would be more conducive to falling asleep or more enjoyable.

You know...some people read books, or play video games to escape reality. How is spending some time in your own imagination any different? Also, "productive" is completely subjective. What might be productive to one person may not be to another.

That said...I still think there is a distinction between the types of daydreaming. Unless you guys are claiming that you aggressively pace back and forth in your rooms in an advanced state of agitation while you fantasize about such things? Or that you do it so much that it has deleterious effects to your life in some way?

Anything can become a disorder. It's just a matter of how damaging certain behaviors are to the individual. For me, spending a few hours at night imagining things is advantageous, not harmful. There is nothing "maladaptive" about it whatsoever.

I couldn't agree more.
In my line of work (or studies ) being able to summon immersion on the spot like that is such as useful ability.
I can solve many game design problems on the fly by closing my eyes and playing through the problematic scene in my imagination.

Never be afraid to dream a little bigger Stryke.

Originally Posted by tommo

Never be afraid to dream a little bigger Stryke.

by "dream bigger" i assume u mean to set high goals... which i do... but i spend time working towards those goals rather than just imagining i have achieved them.

i USED to maladaptive daydream but not because of stress or whatever.

I still KINDA do it.

I would create my own 'kingdom hearts/ final fantasy' video game in my mind with a story and i would continue the story each day. I would be all the enemies and bosses fighting the protagonist. It was really fun and I guarantee if it were a real video game it would be SOOOOOOOOO awesome! I pretended I was a human with a slightly curved purple sword fighting another person with a sword. I also pretended i was falling off a cliff fighting a dragon and jumping off the rocks the cliff made when it exploded......

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah gooooood times

I still kinda do it XD

EDIT: I would actually pretend to wield a sword in real life and start swinging my arms in the air at random directions.

RE-EDIT: @Styrke: I did this a lot during Grade 6 and in total i got 21 A's during all 3 terms. I consider this to be high marks and I worked hard to achieve them. I'm very creative and i use this to enhance my creativity as well as embrace and enjoy it.

___

Is what I'm doing like a very high extent of Maladaptive daydreaming because I atually swing my arms around and ppl think I'm weird if they see XD. I only do it in my house tho. I have a pretend sword in my hand as well.

Originally Posted by Stryke

by "dream bigger" i assume u mean to set high goals... which i do... but i spend time working towards those goals rather than just imagining i have achieved them.

What makes you think any of us aren't working towards our goals? Also, you're clearly unfamiliar with the power of visualization in achieving your goals.

In regards to my own situation, I don't imagine or fantasize about achieving my goals. That's because I am actively working toward achieving them every single day. With the amount of school work I have to do everyday in actively working to achieve my biggest goal of becoming a doctor in veterinary medicine, I think I'm allowed to spend a few hours when I'm trying to fall asleep at night fantasizing about whatever I want.

It's a little insulting for you to come in here and imply that we are all "wasting" our time and should find better things to do, when you have no idea about any of our situations. I work so ridiculously hard toward achieving my goals, and I achieve them all the time. If I don't spend at least a little time just doing things that I enjoy, then I would literally have a mental breakdown. Don't you know? All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

Though I have an inkling the reason you are being so condescending, is that perhaps you are one of those people who tragically lack creativity and imagination. If that's the case, then it's probably just misplaced jealousy.

My daydreaming world started when I was about the age of seven. The characters are still there and they've grown up with me, like imaginary friends in my head. Ive had huge problems with this imaginary world. The story isn't always nice, I can easily lose myself in it, and I'm not even a character in it! And thats whats been so weird for me is, im not a character in it.

You gotta pay attention to your head, or you can lose yourself. I created this story mostly out of boredom and curiosity. I played the story again and again day in and day out, especially before falling asleep, or on long car rides, etc. Thinking about this imaginary story became habitual and addictive past-time. And by the time I was a teenager, having spent years daydreaming on this one story, it felt real. And thats a problem, especially since I'm not even a chief character!

I think I should be the main character!!! I mean, isn't that the whole point of daydreaming? Im like really missing out on something here.

I want to ween myself off of this childhood imaginary world of mine.

Okay, im about to dive into insanity here...

Letting go of this daydream has been one of the most difficult challenges in my life, seriously. Ive been trying for years. Dream characters can be "conscious". They can be conscious because you have imparted your own conscious into them (and exist becuase of your attention). Such as a dream character who represents your subconscious, and you can actually have a dialogue with them.

Now, I've been giving these daydream characters so much of my conscious attention, im pretty damn sure they represent some aspect of my subconscious self now. I believe this because of my dreams.

Ive tried to summon these characters in my dream. Its never worked. The only time I can be with them is when Im not lucid (summoning means im lucid). The moment I become lucid, they vanish. Theyre not the only characters that disappear when I become lucid. My animus disappears when I become lucid. And so do dream characters representing the people I love the most.

In a lucid dream, it was revealed to me that the reason dream characters vanish when I become lucid is because they are a part of me. Its like these dream characters, my animus, reintegrate into me upon lucidity. Well so do these daydream characters. The one time I really forced myself to see this daydream character while lucid, all I saw was a shadow. Just that. I created a doorway for the character to step through. And all I saw on the other side of that doorway was a shadow obscuring everything. A shadow-self!

I was terrified! This is the character im daydreaming about? It took me a long time to understand that the dream meant my daydream character is a shadow-self. In other words, the part of me I haven't recognized.

All this time, even though I wasn't a character in my own daydream, my imaginary world has always been about me. I just never realized it. And if I were to put myself into that imaginary world, make myself the main character for once, the story becomes clear and disintegrates.

Oooh I've heard of this. I guess I have this considering that I like to listen to my music while on a bus and come up with stories. I've even created these characters that represent some emotions that I have. One thing that I do notice is that I have my peaks in my obsession with wanting to make or continue a story. Some days during school I zone out during a lecture and travel to my own little fantasy world where I either continue a previous story or start a new one.

Lately though I've been trying to learn how to draw and I use them as something to go off of when I do. Sometimes, I can even learn a little about myself with them. Which shows to some pessimistic individuals, in my opinion at least, that it isn't a complete waste of time. It's always nice to reflect on things and learn how to better yourself. Also, as far as I see, the only time the "disorder" part comes into play is when you allow it to take control of your life in which you no longer choose to go out to buy food or converse with friends. Where you spend too much time away from others and shut out the rest of the world, but I can see that as just being normal anti-social behavior.

Originally Posted by Stryke

by "dream bigger" i assume u mean to set high goals... which i do... but i spend time working towards those goals rather than just imagining i have achieved them.

I was going to reply to this but Aquanina summed it up nicely.

I wasnt implying that I know anything about the way anyone here lives their life... All I was saying is that "daydreaming" is a waste of time in my opinion. Im not saying meditation or prayer is a waste, but neither of those things is even close to daydreamin and thats what we are talking about here. Thats my opinion and Im entitled to it, no need to get all uppity just because we have a difference of opinion, if it offends anyone then so be it. And if you arent the kind of person whe wasts time daydreaming then there would be no need for you to be offended either way

EVERYONE daydreams at least 70-120 minutes daily.

Originally Posted by gameoverlord345

EVERYONE daydreams at least 70-120 minutes daily.

losing focus on the moment and having your mind wander as a result is not the same as intentionally daydreaming

ah whatever. lol

Originally Posted by juroara

In a lucid dream, it was revealed to me that the reason dream characters vanish when I become lucid is because they are a part of me. Its like these dream characters, my animus, reintegrate into me upon lucidity. Well so do these daydream characters. The one time I really forced myself to see this daydream character while lucid, all I saw was a shadow. Just that. I created a doorway for the character to step through. And all I saw on the other side of that doorway was a shadow obscuring everything. A shadow-self!

Do you think that other dream characters which do not vanish when you become lucid are not merely manifested by your unconscious? Or do you think that the reason these particular characters vanish, is because they are so much more a part of you then the other dream characters, even though all might be part of you? Or do you think the other characters may somehow exist outside yourself?

Well what do you know, I STILL DO IT!

Originally Posted by gameoverlord345

EVERYONE daydreams at least 70-120 minutes daily.

Naaaa I never daydream anymore. I do not think much either.

@Stryke

Waisting energy or using it productively is completely subjective. What you did with your energy or what you thought or whatever in your life will not matter when you're dead. Everything leads to nothing. It doesn't really matter. Nobodys right and nobodys wrong. We may choose what to do, but it all leads nowhere. Now-here

you daydream without realizing it

I don'tz foo

.......................... What???

Originally Posted by Aquanina

Do you think that other dream characters which do not vanish when you become lucid are not merely manifested by your unconscious? Or do you think that the reason these particular characters vanish, is because they are so much more a part of you then the other dream characters, even though all might be part of you? Or do you think the other characters may somehow exist outside yourself?

I haven't figured it all out myself either.

I think all of my dream characters are manifestations of my own mind, but I wouldn't say that they are are all "a part" of me. What I mean is, a lot of dream characters just disappear once I stop paying attention to them, and that's that, they're gone. Other dream characters are more persistent, and I see them dream after dream after dream. They mean a little "more" than a regular dream character who's just filling the space.

What I was thinking, is when I did this, I mean fantasize day dreaming all the time, it was the best thing I could have done for the stage of spiritual evolution I was at. It was helped me enjoy myself for where I was at. My hope and dreams are what kept me alive. Later I began smoking weed and that led to me finding inner silence. I enjoyed being in a state of no thoughts and not caring alot more than more normal thinking state. Later I found something even more enjoyable than this, I found love. I realized love is all that matters. Then I lost love. I became sick of listening to my heart. I began to become aware of the energy around me. I began to learn to focus my energy. Over time I began to understand it more and more. I eventually got to the point where I could intend to dream what I wanted. I became a sorcerer. Everything that happens is leading me to more understanding.
Anyways the 7 stages of spiritual growth are:
1. Physical
2. Mind
3. inner silence
4. emotions
5. intent.
6. seeing energy
7. realization of the source of one

Kinda off topic...... whatever

Originally Posted by saltyseedog

Naaaa I never daydream anymore. I do not think much either.

@Stryke

Waisting energy or using it productively is completely subjective. What you did with your energy or what you thought or whatever in your life will not matter when you're dead. Everything leads to nothing. It doesn't really matter. Nobodys right and nobodys wrong. We may choose what to do, but it all leads nowhere. Now-here

yes i agree that whether something is productive or not is subjective... and my opinion is that this stuff is wasteful, just like the opinion of some here is that this stuff is very useful. I guess some people here are only fine with the sharing of opinions if the opinion that is being shared is in agreement with their own opinion