Daydreaming has always been a major part of my life. I would invent characters and interactions between them, but then would switch to a new set with new characters often based loosely on something I had read. Like you I did not have many friends as a child and actually still don't. Daydreaming has helped my sanity. Come to think of it, I have been under so much stress lately have not daydreamed in a while, and I need to return to it because without it my stress becomes worse.

I don't think daydreaming interferes with night dreams. They both have their place and can complement each other.

Unlike you I did not keep my day dream life a secret, and my grandmother whom I loved dearly dismissed my day dreams as "sillies" - I think she never realized how essential my day dreams are to who I am. Occasionally I tell of my daydreams to my husband, and he also does not understand I think as much as I wish he did - maybe you are right that it is better to keep them a secret.

I have been trying to increase my daytime awareness to achieve lucid dreaming, and that's going to be a challenge with the daydreams. However, I think I need my daydreams to bring the stress down. So maybe I will need to alternate (periods of daydreaming and periods of awareness) or maybe I can combine the two (awareness during day dreams?).