Daydreaming can be fun, harmless and beneficial but, not at all times. Growing up we’ve all day dreamed about a past event that took place in our life, or a future scenario, we wish that could take place. It’s all fun and happening if we can control it , if we don’t end up spending our entire time imaging them or if that does not disrupt our daily lives. But when someone keeps daydreaming excessively and cannot control them and this leads to them always being distracted from what they are required to do ,then that is a serious issue and is called Maladaptive Daydreaming.
Most of the time, our daydreaming is voluntary, that is, we can control it and stop it whenever we want to, but sometimes it becomes excessive and tricky and we often find it difficult to concentrate on our real lives. If you have anxiety, then you think about every possible negative scenario, that can take place. Say for example, you have a class presentation, you start worrying and start daydreaming about how the presentation can go wrong. You often overthink something and start imagining awful stuff. Say like, you start imagining about, getting under a bus or falling from the terrace etc. People with depression end up daydreaming about every possible depressing scenario.
Some people say that daydreaming is a form of escapism. This is not bad, but avoiding any situation can only make it bigger and worser, so it’s better to face problems, than avoid them. It’s our brain’s way of protecting us from stress and pain. It’s however possible that playing a sad scenario in your mind is just normal and not Maladaptive Daydreaming. Research says that people with this disorder end up spending at least 60% of their waking hours daydreaming and disconnecting themselves from the real world. People have often been fired from their jobs because they were often found daydreaming, this has affected a lot of people in a negative way.
Symptoms of Maladaptive Daydreaming:-
- The quality of the daydreams are very high and vivid.
- They are abnormally long.
- They become hard to escape and return to the real world.
- Daydreaming is triggered by an external event such as watching a movie or listening to music.
- They cause insomnia.
- There are certain unconscious movements while daydreaming.
We can stop this by getting proper sleep, increase the amouyand the quality of your sleep. Keep someone informed about your symptoms, so that they can help you when you abnormally day dream for a longer period of time. Identifying the triggers and avoiding them can really be helpful and talking to a therapist about this would help you feel better. This is a serious disorder as it ruptures your mental health and you start avoiding the real world and spend more time in your imaginary world. But don’t freak out after reading this because I did too, it’s common for us to daydream, all of us do, but ensure that you can control it and it doesn’t disrupt your normal real life.
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