Maladaptive Daydreaming: When Excessive Daydreaming Disrupts Reality

Have you ever found yourself lost in a daydream so deep that reality felt distant? You might have envisioned entire conversations, fascinating alternate realities, or even ongoing narratives in your mind. Daydreaming is a common and normal experience that is even beneficial sometimes. But what happens when it transitions from a harmless escape into something that interferes with your real life?

That’s called maladaptive daydreaming. Unlike regular daydreaming, which can be a break from reality, it is a form of excessive daydreaming to the point that it disrupts daily life.

People who experience maladaptive daydreaming often spend hours just creating a life other than their actual lives, sometimes to the point that they feel disconnected from reality. They might have highly detailed and emotionally intense fantasies in which they are emotionally attached to fictional characters they’ve created. Maladaptive daydreams are structured in one’s head, and one dream is built over the other just like a long TV series. Some of these daydreams can continue over weeks, months, or even years. Maladaptive daydreamers also tend to engage in repetitive movements like tapping or pacing when they are lost in thought.

You might be asking what is wrong with it. The actual harm begins in the time consumed for daydreaming. Maladaptive daydreamers can daydream to the point that they no longer function normally and continue with their daily lives. Time loss and procrastination are some of the most important results of maladaptive daydreaming, as they eventually inhibit daily life. Maladaptive daydreamers also tend to use daydreaming as an escape rather than coping with stress, anxiety, or other problems. In further cases, it can even inhibit social relationships as one chooses to socially isolate themselves and daydream.

The daydreaming itself isn’t bad. Ultimately, we’ve all grown by hearing that imagination is a skill and dreaming is important for success, but it isn’t bad until the point that it pulls you away from living in the present. But why do some people experience it?

Childhood Trauma or Loneliness

Many people with maladaptive daydreaming issues report using daydreaming as a coping mechanism to escape difficult emotions, loneliness, or neglect.

Boredom or Dissatisfaction with Real Life

If real life feels unfulfilling, one’s life may retreat into their inner world, where they have all the control over their life.

Mental Health Conditions

Maladaptive daydreaming is often associated with psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD.

It is important to consider that maladaptive daydreaming does not just pop up. For many, it starts as a harmless habit, but over time, it becomes compulsive and interferes with life in hard-to-control ways. And just like other psychological issues, it is always possible to keep it under control with professional help.