Discussion Any maladaptive daydreamers here?

[TANETS]

For as long as I can remember ive always been locked in a permanent dream world to cope with the fact that I hate my reality so much. I dont know how I would ne coping if it weren't for my fantasies. Its embarrassing being an adult and still having what is essentially imaginary friends.

 

[ghostpage]

I think I have this. I have always liked to write stories and dialogue from all of these characters that I have in my head. It's so detailed now that it does a surprisingly good job of distracting from life… almost like a second, more rewarding life I can live. I suppose that's why it's one of my only hobbies that still feels fulfilling.

 

[TANETS]

I think I have this. I have always liked to write stories and dialogue from all of these characters that I have in my head. It's so detailed now that it does a surprisingly good job of distracting from life… almost like a second, more rewarding life I can live. I suppose that's why it's one of my only hobbies that still feels fulfilling.

Same here. Writing or fantasizing about stuff gives me an adrenaline rush and sometimes I wish my fantasies were real .

 

[OzymandiAsh]

I actually envy you both. I was very much the daydreaming and writer kid until too much trauma, pain and rage made me change myself. I became hypermotivated and pushed myself until I broke. Now I can no longer either daydream or write well. I wish I still had my imagination.

 

[underairpressure]

I do this, I can spend hours and hours just pacing, deeply immersed in my "daydreams". The pull to do this can actually be so intense that it stops me from being able to enjoy movies, read books, spend time with people, etc. So it's definitely "maladaptive"............ but it's also one of my favorite things in the world. I don't think I'd be alive if I didn't do this all the time

That being said, while I do have some "characters" and "stories" I dream about sometimes, I'm not very creative and it isn't very, constructive, I guess. I mostly just imagine the exact same things, stories, and scenarios, over and over and over again, with minor changes over time.

 

[woofwag]

My daydreams aren't an "escape" as they normally are for people who maladaptive daydream, but oh boy do I fucking daydream. Mine are AVPD daydreams, so normally they're fucking awful situations that I recite to try and rectify my response. It entails me standing up for myself, sometimes with aggression/violence, which I then never do irl. I also sometimes recite situation where I die or last interactions. It's not fun at all. It kept me up last night for hours because I literally could not stop talking aloud as if they were right there, terrorizing me again. I've managed to reduce their frequency a little bit, but only by replacing it with dopamine-heavy tasks like scrolling for hours and hours which also makes me miserable lol I cannot win

 

[Hellis]

Was a maladaptive daydreamer until I got on Zoloft. Hard to want to live when you are not able to escape to your own mind, though. Learned the hard way I daydreamed as a defense mechanism haha.

 

[violetforever]

so bad that i cry when i realize no matter how hard i think of another place and time to escape to, im still stuck here in this stressful reality.

 

[5er50ji]

I'm a maladaptive daydreamer too. I've been doing it since a kid, basically living a double life half in reality and half in my head if that makes sense. My depression has gotten so bad in the past few years that I can only really do it when I'm drunk now - I'm an alcoholic but I try to keep my drinking to evenings only after work so I really let my mind do what it wants at night and imagine a life where I have friends, party and dance and live an exciting and fun life. The reality and the crash that comes when I either sober up or get 'sad drunk' crushes me though. I feel so embarrassed about wanting a normal life that a lot of people get to live on the regular.

 

[ForgetIExist]

For as long as I can remember ive always been locked in a permanent dream world to cope with the fact that I hate my reality so much. I dont know how I would ne coping if it weren't for my fantasies. Its embarrassing being an adult and still having what is essentially imaginary friends.

I've been summoned. I know it's childish and unrealistic, but I fantasize about reincarnation into a fantasy/fictional setting when I die.

 

[BradGuy123]

I did this all through high school. It was a miserable experience for me. I was severely bullied. I knew I was gay in a conservative town, attending a conservative church, in an era where it was not accepted. I had to keep it bottled up inside. So I had a lot of self doubt. It was uncomfortable in my own skin. I used this as a way of coping. I had this dramatic TV show in my head with all these characters. I would write stories and dialog for them in my head and picture what they were going through. For years I thought as was the only one in the world who did this. Then came adulthood and the Internet. I searched one day and found it was called maladaptive dreaming and that enough people did it that it has a name. I don't do it anymore. I have no reason to do so.