Does anybody here Maladaptive daydream?

It's where you spend intense periods of time daydreaming and fantasizing about realtime stories that involve you as a first-person character. I have been doing this as long as I can remember, and now it's beginning to become an addiction.

I have an entire world in my head, the characters are moving about as of now, doing their daily work as I would be realistically if I were them. When I go into my mind whenever I'm in daydream mode, as I call it, it feels like I'm actually there. I can get sucked in, where I don't hear any outside noise, and I mouth what I am saying inside my daydream. Is this beyond dreaming? and I was reading this can be a leading sign into mental health problems. I have a lot of problems, and I admit to being very anti-social and I use Maladaptive daydreaming as my coping mechanism.

Comments? and it would be helpful to relate to somebody who daydreams as much as I do. I spend about 5-6 hours a day daydreaming, and 1-2 hours before bed and then I fall asleep, and adventure into my dream world. It feels like reality is drifting, and my life is more involved with the characters and concepts of my daydreaming, so that's the problem here.

I know exactly what you're talking about, actually. At least, to some degree. My own mental world was my attempt to understand how my mind worked, so the characters were different moods of mine. Yet I never spent too much time completely in there. Maybe the reason I wasn't lost in it because it was a way to interface with the real world. Kept me connected to reality. Of course, I embellished it to the point it started getting out of control and disconnected...

Maybe you can try to shift your daydreams to be more of a dream? As in, everything is a symbol for you personally. Everything has a purpose. Wean yourself off, by making it connect you more with reality than escape it.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I do it, too. With me, however, I'm usually doing it while I'm functioning during the day. From the time I wake up until I go to sleep again, half of my mind is in another world; it never goes away. Think of a marathon on TV, only it's perpetual, there's no commercial breaks and each episode is from a different show. I'm in different daydreams all the time, so there aren't really any that are recurring.

I agree with what AnimusMessor179 said; wean yourself off of it. If that fails, try to multitask like I do. I can't guarantee its safety in everyday life, however.

I don't do this during the day anymore, but I used to. I do it at night though because it takes me a really long time to fall asleep...like 1-2 hours...so I spend that time doing this sort of daydreaming that you speak of, never knew it had a name. The stories used to revolve around myself and certain fantasies I had in my life. To be honest, when my real life began playing out exactly, and I mean exactly, like some of those fantasies I started to take notice of the whole power of intention/law of attraction stuff and started to believe there was actually something to it. Anyways, nowadays the stories revolve around a character that I've created that is basically my alterego and occurs in complex fantasy worlds I've built over the years. So it's no longer just about me and my life anymore...but each night it's like I add chapters to this epic saga...it's great...and sometimes it even leads me into lucid dreams.

Also I think there is nothing wrong with this, and like I said, maybe it can even be used to make some things a reality. I don't like the term "maladaptive" because that implies that it is something bad.

I used to do this when I was younger, though I didn't know what it was until I read this thread. I didn't do it during the day, but as I was falling asleep at night. I kinda just stopped doing it.

It started off with me visualising Spyro and a friend going through adventures etc. Soon it became as if I was there, controlling it. I actually thought I was lucid dreaming but now that I've seen this thread I don't think it was because I wasn't asleep, I just wasn't aware of my surroundings.

Is it bad that I would like to learn how to do this? Not to the extent that I spend ours doing it, but have a world and reality shift inside your head sounds awesome to me.

I do it at night. Though I don't build a complete world with characters or something... just different scenes in different places with different circumstances. Occaisionally I do it during daytime.

Right, well that's comforting to know I am not the only person who does this, it seems you all do.

I've had this problem my entire life. For me, it's a coping/escape mechanism.
I was able to end it for about 8 years though, by forcing out the thoughts ("Shut up, brain!")
My daydreams are perverted and very dark so I would anguish in guilt over them.
Now, I don't really care anymore, so I've been indulging them again.
I'm trying to turn one such fantasy into a story to write.

I know what you mean about the lines becoming blurred. I seem to have a subconscious fear of driving because when I lived in BFE one of my daydreams was of crashing during a blizzard, having amnesia from the accident, wondering out into the forest, getting raped by a hunter, coming to fear civilization, giving birth to twins in the wild etc etc.
I'd think of the story every time I went out and I would drive in extreme weather, daring the daydream to become real. I have a Scottevest jacket that I always wore. The jacket has around 20 pockets and I keep everything in it- sewing kit, collapsible cup, some meds. If I'd leave home without it, I was certain nothing bad could happen :D
In truth, though, I was just afraid to make the 40-60 minute commute into town so my brain concocted a "worse case scenario" to distract me. I came up with the story to help conquer the fear as silly as it may sound.

Now I live in town again. My kids are unruly, I never see my hubby... so my daydream involves my hubby divorcing me and giving me $25,000. as a parting gift. I send my kids to live with my parents, then I hit the road, find a cave in some national forest and homestead in it. The story changes and evolves according to my whims but all of them are painfully detailed.

I think we should all be writers :D

i know exactly what u mean haha theyre pretty vivid and just like epic storylines and things that if i was in a vivid LD id like to carry out. i do it like most of the day now thoguht its really bad, in college, work or anything im just in my own world lmao

So, what are your night dreams like?

I used to do this when I was a kid. I would often imagine huge epic battles that I was a part of. And later on when I was obsessed with girls I would imagine us leaving society together and living in the wild.

Now I don't do this at all. I want to create an alternate pretend life in my dreams though, just to escape temporarily from being human. I'm still trying to think up a character and a story though :/

If you do this you should definately turn it into a dream!!!! Basically my life is I am fully immersed in my experience. Whether that be dreams or waking life.
But in my dreams I am still who I am in waking life. I want to pretend I am someone else in a different reality and then make it have a continuing story line like a book.

I didn't know there was a name for this, how exciting!

I have done this since I was a kid, and I never really stopped.
I still do it nowadays, usually if I'm in a situation where I'm bored but can't really do anything about it.
For example if I'm at uni and a lecture is really boring.
I also do it occasionally while driving long distances over the german autobahn, as long as there isn't much traffic.
(I know, this may not sound very safe, but really, on the route in question I encounter another car like every 5 minutes.)

I've created countless plots over the past years.
The really interesting part is, that after enough character development, the story basically plays on it's own.

I also do it every night before falling asleep.
Not only does visualizing help me fall asleep, but I also think it helps with dream incubation. (mostly just remembering goals)

Kinda cool to know I'm not the only one doing this. :)

P.S. It's true, you are crazy. We all are. Especially the ones that call others crazy. They are the craziest ones.

I don't know if everyones crazy but I am completely fucking crazy!!!!!!! I think the ones that don't know they are crazy are the craziest ones :silly:

haha yeah but i guess there are sort of different levels of it.
i think mine at the moment is quite bad and is affecting my education quite a lot as ill just sit in lessons and zone out without realising and just slip into this other reality, i do it pretty much most of my day the only time i dont do it is when im concentrating on the computer or when im talking to someone or playing a game or something.
I guess when i get round to LD'ing on a regular basis i can put these into dreams, about the plot of the thing self developing i sort of get what you mean on that one too :D its really odd :P

music has a MASSIVE part to play in this, a lot of the time i zone into complete almost visualisation with it, so almost like a dream but your really awake. Sort of like a semi-lucid dream.

^I kind of had that on shrooms when I was listening to music

I hated school because concentration was extremely difficult. As an adult, I was diagnosed with ADD. I thought the obsessive day dreaming was just part of the ADD and my anxiety.
I did my best writing in High School though.
I never knew it had a name either, so it's been interesting to find others who do this :)

It doesn't help me with my dreams, though. I think I play out the storylines SO freagin much while I'm awake, my brain gets sick of it and makes me dream of unrelated stuff :lol:
And since I've returned to this after an 8 year break, I'm more easily distracted. Music would be a definite no-no for me. Any noise or activity sort of breaks the "spell".

I love listening to music while doing this, it makes the experience much more intense, as long as the music is fitting.
I choreograph the daydream to the music, it's a lot of fun. :)

This actually helped me develop my ability to lucid dream in the first place. I too had an entire world in my head.
Most of my fantasies were pervy. Some involved being sort of a super hero, except that my super power was ultimate brain power. I could do anything, merely because I knew how to. Other fantasies involved helping starving, or homeless people.

I'm so lame.

You're not lame.

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Maladaptive daydreaming is the title proposed by Eli Somer, Ph.D., for a condition in which an individual daydreams or fantasizes as a psychological response to prior trauma or abuse. This title has become popularly generalized to incorporate a recently-described syndrome of immersive or excessive daydreaming which is specifically characterized by attendant distress or functional impairment, whether or not it is contingent upon a history of trauma or abuse, as introduced in 2009 by Cynthia Schupak, Ph.D. and Jesse Rosenthal, M.D. of New York City. Dr. Schupak and her colleagues are currently conducting follow-up research on excessive or "maladaptive" daydreaming in a confidential online study.

Maladaptive Daydreaming is often characterised by pacing around (often to music) whilst in a profound daydream. Furthermore someone with the condition may uncontrolablly move their hands or find and hold an object to use in a semi unconscious state. The daydreaming is often triggered by a type of media for example a movie or a song. Maladaptive Daydreaming is reported to make it difficult to concentrate on everyday tasks. Not everyone with the condition sees it as a bad thing but as a gift of vivid imagination.

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Hmm...ok so after reading this...I don't think this is what I thought it was. I don't do it in response to trauma or abuse, and I don't display attendant distress or functional impairment, nor do I pace around listening to music when I daydream, picking up objects, etc. I don't think the OP provided a clear or accurate description of the concept of Maladaptive Daydreaming. A lot of people who responded to this thread seemed to have similar experiences as I have...which just involves excessive daydreaming...and isn't necessarily maladaptive, which by definition, implies abnormality or mental dysfunction.

^basically you do it to escape your miserable reality

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Originally Posted by saltyseedog

^basically you do it to escape your miserable reality

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I don't consider my reality to be miserable. I just have an overactive imagination.

Ok Im a bit confused, are you all discussing thes as if its problem? or just an interesting habit? because to me it seems like a real problem. Seems like you should be spending your time actually living your life in a productive way. Just my opinion though.

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Originally Posted by saltyseedog

^basically you do it to escape your miserable reality

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Originally Posted by Stryke

Ok Im a bit confused, are you all discussing thes as if its problem? or just an interesting habit? because to me it seems like a real problem. Seems like you should be spending your time actually living your life in a productive way. Just my opinion though.

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Okay... wait.
I don't do it because I'm miserable or anything, in fact, I'm quite pleased with my life.
For me this is something very relaxing and very fun to do.
I just love letting my imagination run wild, and I think that having done this for many years is one reason why I'm a very creative person.
Being able to play out stories like that in my head and let characters develop helps me a great deal to design computer games. (I study game development)
I bet this would also be very helpful if you're a writer etc.

So yeah, I'm confused as well now. Are we discussion potential mental health problems when using this as a mechanism to escape reality?

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.

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.

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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I couldn't agree more.
In my line of work (or studies :P) 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.

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Originally Posted by tommo

Never be afraid to dream a little bigger Stryke.

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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 :D

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Originally Posted by gameoverlord345

EVERYONE daydreams at least 70-120 minutes daily.

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

ah whatever. :D lol

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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!

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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! :cheeky:

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Originally Posted by gameoverlord345

EVERYONE daydreams at least 70-120 minutes daily.

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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 :D

I don'tz foo :split::panic:

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

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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?

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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

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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

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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

Nobody here is trying to stop you from voicing your opinion, and I don't think anybody here is offended by your opinion.

We're just saying that you are very close minded. Which is why I said dream a little bigger. Not specifically meaning "dream", just think of things to do other than being "productive". Productivity is not the most important thing.

IF you like being productive, for whatever reason, go ahead. Don't do anything unless it is "productive" - however you choose to define that. You will have a happy life.

Some of us think that productivity is a side effect of what we do, not necessarily the aim, and we should do what makes us happy.

Furthermore, if some of us think that daydreaming can help us solve problems, then how is that unproductive?

You have to be very careful calling something unproductive. Because if you actually start to think about it, you will find you have to call everything unproductive.
I used to have a similar stance towards some things. "Useless venture". But I wised up.

You may as well stop posting on forums because you are wasting time which could be used for being "productive".
You better cut down on your sleep because you could be using that time to be "productive".
You should also stop thinking for yourself, because that encourages debate which wasted time which could be spent being "productive".

I'd make a great government spokesperson.

sleep is to regain engergy... productive
using forums to trade infromation and gain knowledge of things... productive
thinking for myself... well im not even gonna bother explaining why thats worth doing

and like i said, the uselessness of daydreaming is just my opinion, i though i made that clear. Im not assuming my opinions are the end all be all of life facts. i thought forums were for discussion, not just ego reinforcing and mandatory agreements.

last post on this thread, no longer feel like defending something I said when I have already acknowledged that everything is opinion and subjective

Half of these threads aren't productive, they're just fun. :D

And I find being productive is impossible without daydreaming. Its only when I daydream of how awesome it would be to publish my book do I get off my butt and work on it. Daydreaming is important to find inspiration for creative works.

That's fine that you are qualifying your statement with clarification that it is merely your opinion. Of course everyone is allowed their opinion. This goes without saying. I would never expect everyone to agree, and this forum does not require mandatory agreements nor does it exist for the reinforcement of egos. What you have to realize, is that your original statement was somewhat incendiary. Coming into a thread full of daydreamers, stating that their actions are wasteful, and that they should be spending their time doing something more productive was not the most prudent way to make your opinion clear.

If you want to explain why daydreaming is wasteful or unproductive for you then that is fine. The problem is in the narrow minded assumption that it is also unproductive for the rest of us. Which is why tommo suggested you widen your gaze, and I completely agree with him.

@ Stryke

just curious, how do you find lucid dreaming, productive? your time doing reality checks and being aware can be changed into solving complex math equations to help cure cancer can it not?

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Originally Posted by juroara

My daydreaming world started when I was about the age of seven... (long post)

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I was about to post something, and you basically gave a perfect example of it.

Many daydreams are often expressions of parts of yourself that are not accessible to the conscious mind, usually revolving around various personal fears or issues that have not surfaced.

To use a metaphor, think of an issue in your subconscious as a seed beneath the earth. Your conscious mind is at the surface, above ground, and all it sees are the plants sprouting up from that seed. You can work at the level of these plants, cutting them back, but the seed will continue to sprout new ones. So whatever lays in your subconscious mind will automatically find ways to express itself through your conscious thoughts, in many ways taking over the function of your will. Hence these daydreams seem to play themselves out automatically almost without your input. Its as if a layer of your consciousness has gained an autonomy of its own and is "controlling" or at least influencing your mind because you are unaware of its existence.

This is basically what Jung calls a complex. It can come in the form of thought patterns, and often does, but daydreaming provides an excellent way of viewing these complexes in action. By paying attention to the themes and ideas that are being played out in your daydream, you can begin to understand the root cause which is spawning them.

For instance, a rather simple example is that I used to imagine myself in various social situations where I was gaining the approval of other people. Doing some amazing feat, making witty comments, etc. Obviously the root cause is an insecurity with myself, hence the need for other peoples acknowledgment. So by facing that root cause, bringing it to the attention of my consciousness, the daydreams largely stopped and I became more secure as a person. The seed has been destroyed simply by becoming aware of it. It can only continue to exist without the light of consciousness shining on it. One's shadow cannot exist in light.

Juroara, perhaps the reason your daydream characters vanish when you focus directly on them, or are lucid in a dream, is because for these complexes to operate they require a certain loosening of the will. Because they are in many ways autonomous, they will only be able to take over your thoughts, daydreams or dreams when your control, and your conscious awareness, fade slightly. Then they have a chance to come to the surface.

All that being said, I think there is still room for healthy creative visualization. The imagination likes to be stretched. However pay attention to what you are imagining, note any recurring themes, and then ask yourself "why does this keep coming up?"

Yes, I know exactly what your talking about. Virtually every class of my whole academic career might as well be called intense periods of daydreams lol even outside of school I have always daydreamed a lot. I wouldn't call it a bad thing though, I almost feel you can learn more from your imagination than anything else.

My daydreams are precious to me, I'd never want them to go away.

I spend quite a bit of time daydreaming - depending on how much work I have to do, that's as little as an hour or as much as several hours. I'm not sure whether or not it helps with lucid dreaming because I've been engaged in these daydreams for years now, but it seems likely. The characters I engage in my daydreams gradually take on recurring roles in dreams (and vice versa). This also helps with things like fiction writing and roleplaying, as one might expect. I don't let it get in the way of my life, so it's definitely not maladaptive. Having a vivid imagination and getting to know yourself this way is something to enjoy and be proud of. :)

I enjoy doing that - I have two different stories running as of now, both adapted from movies. I do it mostly for knowing exactly what I'm going to do in my next lucids. Although I probably spend at least two hours a day doing that, it doesn't get in the way of anything, and I only do it when I'm bored, or have nothing else to do.

I currently have two different stories (or worlds if you want) running as well.
One is a fantasy setting which I think I started at the age of 12, so it's been running for approximately 13 years now.
Over the years I jumped back and forth in time building the story of this fictional world and that of my main character.
I've "rewritten" parts of it over the years, as I got older and more mature and found some parts childish or inappropriate.
Some elements in this setting are based on childhood dreams.

The other one is a sci-fi setting a few years in the future, which I started about 5 years ago.
I actually develop the story for more than one character in this one, but it does have a main character based on myself.

I used to spend a lot of time daydreaming when I was younger, mostly during high-school classes, because I was bored and couldn't focus on the lecture.
Nowadays I don't have the time to daydream very much, but I still do it approximately 15 minutes every day plus some more whilst falling asleep.
Interestingly enough, I never dream about these worlds though, which I find rather odd. (I'm not actively trying though)

If I think back about all the huge stories and settings I've created, it's kind of a shame that I didn't write any of them down.
By now I must have forgotten nearly all of them.

I'm starting to take my daydreaming into account and actually do it intentionally, because it IS a fun thing to do, and I think it's not a waste of time when there's not really anything else I could be doing.

I used to as a kid but it kinda stopped without me noticing it. I'm focusing on making them seem more clear and real. More lucid, if you will. It's kinda like my meditation.

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Originally Posted by NikJ92

I know exactly what you're talking about. I do it, too. With me, however, I'm usually doing it while I'm functioning during the day. From the time I wake up until I go to sleep again, half of my mind is in another world; it never goes away. Think of a marathon on TV, only it's perpetual, there's no commercial breaks and each episode is from a different show. I'm in different daydreams all the time, so there aren't really any that are recurring.

I agree with what AnimusMessor179 said; wean yourself off of it. If that fails, try to multitask like I do. I can't guarantee its safety in everyday life, however.

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I'm 34 you just described me to a T, it is so natrual to me I thought everybody worked that way till recently. I just discovered MD and its a huge a relief. Your description in perticular was the first to match mine enough I had to join and reply.

ETA I enjoy mine, I really have no choice there not gonna stop for me at least.