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Post by neusfabregas12 on Jul 13, 2020 17:52:21 GMT
Hello!
My name is Neus and I'm doing some very important academic work for me. It is about the disorder that this page talks about in the hope of making it visible, understanding it and listening to you.
If there are any questions you don't want to answer, feel free to skip them! We're both learning and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.
I need your help to get it. Anonymously, it would help me if you would answer this first set of questions:
-Age:
-Gender:
-How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD?
-How many hours a day can you spend dreaming?
-Did you tell anyone? Why?
-Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape?
-Does it stop you from leading a normal life?
-Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming.
-Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life?
-Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you?
-What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!)
-Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ?
-Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real?
- Does music help you dream?
-Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be?
-Would you like to have more medical information about it?
Thank you very much in advance, I'm sure it will be a great help. If you want to write me privately for anything, go ahead!
neusjf12@gmail.com
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Post by magerella1 on Aug 8, 2020 7:38:40 GMT
Age: 14 -Gender: Female -How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD? I'm  , but probably since I was 5 or 6. -How many hours a day can you spend dreaming? I don't really count, it varies, but once for 10 hours straight (not as impressive as it sounds, I was binge-watching a show and I daydreamed along with the show) -Did you tell anyone? Why? I told my friends when I found out there was a name for this, because I always thought I just had an incredibly over-active imagination. -Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape? I think it's definitely a form of escapism, though I don't always daydream to escape, just for fun, or because I can't help it. I do commonly daydream to pretend I don't live in this reality, especially when my anxiety/depression/stress is worse than normal. I'm about childhood trauma, but the daydreaming definitely got worse when my depression developed. -Does it stop you from leading a normal life? Yes and no, it definitely lowers my productivity and concentration, but I lead a pretty basic life, even if much of it I spend daydreaming. -Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming. I usually feel good during my daydreams, but I always feel really strong emotions from them. If in a daydream something bad or stressful happens, I feel those emotions very strongly, even after the daydream ends, and even though I fully understand it isn't real. I can cry (happy tears and  tears) very easily because of this. -Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life? Well it depends on the way you look at it. Happy memories from real life are generally happier for me, and I usually remember them better, (because they're real) but of course I enjoy my daydreams as well. Better, more interesting stuff happens in my daydreams, but don't remember them that well, unless they're important in a timeline. Also, I know you mean daydreams, not sleeping dreams, but my happiest memory is in one of my sleeping dreams. -Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you? Very much so. When I first found out about it, and I told some people, I got a few looks and it felt like they thought I was making it up or it wasn't real. I don't tell people much anymore because they usually are just confused. -What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!) So I have 3 categories I put my daydreams in. 1: Dreams that put me into an already created fictional world (such as from a book or tv show) and I am a character in those shows or books and goes along with the plot, but I interact with the other characters and make some changes. 2: Dreams that could technically happen in the real world, usually based on a memory and is most likely a conversation with someone I know in real life. 3: This dream is a bit odd, and this is most commonly done when I'm randomly walking around in the middle of the night by myself, or in my room doing some random task on my computer. I occasionally talk out loud during this. It's usually talking to someone who exists in real life, but I don't actually know, such as an actor or famous person. I randomly talk to them about whatever I'm doing, rant if I need to, just have a very odd, mostly one sided conversation. A form of this is when the same thing is happening, but I'm in a hospital bed and have 3 months to live. I understand it sounds odd, I think it's very odd too. -Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ? Depression. -Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real? Yes. I always know none of this is actually happening, however, while I'm daydreaming I forget that the outside world exists. Like I know it's there, and I know that none of it is real, I just forget that I was doing something else. Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a daydream, not remembering when I started daydreaming. - Does music help you dream? Music is one of my main triggers. Like I said in the last question, sometimes I get triggered into daydreaming and I don't remember starting, this is usually triggered by music. -Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be? Definitely. A lot of them have abilities or qualities I wish I had, and their personality is what I wish I was like. However, they do have flaws to make them more interesting. -Would you like to have more medical information about it? Yes please! Hope this helped, thank you! |
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Post by magerella1 on Aug 8, 2020 7:40:44 GMT
I'm sorry, for some reason it replaced some of my words the emojis. The first emoji was supposed to say "notsure" the second one was also supposed to say "notsure" and the last emoji was supposed to say "sadd"
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Post by Sam on Aug 9, 2020 17:09:34 GMT
I'm sorry, for some reason it replaced some of my words the emojis. The first emoji was supposed to say "notsure" the second one was also supposed to say "notsure" and the last emoji was supposed to say "sadd" If you don't want the emojis to replace words, you can turn them off in the settings. Go to Profile > Edit Profile > Settings. Scroll down to "Smiles Default" and click "disabled." Make sure you save the settings. |
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Post by dawn508 on Oct 27, 2020 22:07:53 GMT
Age:15 -Gender:female -How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD? Since I was 12 -How many hours a day can you spend dreaming? A hole day if im not interapted or I don't have school and stuff... -Did you tell anyone? Why? No. I found out that athers do this and it's a mental illness two days ago, and I guess I'm to afraid to tell anyone. I also don't really know to whom I shouldto tell, because I don't have friends and my sister will think I'm crazy and what the hell am I supposed to tell my parents? That I found a video on TikTok that said I'm crazy and I researched it and it turns out I am crazy?! -Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape? yes. In 7 grade I was sick and it was a new school the sickness started in 7 grade, the middle of the first semester and it ended at the middle of 8 grade (last year) but then the corona started and we learned from zoom. Now I'm in 9 grade and I have no friend's at school because I was barly there. I think the daydreaming started wen I got sick. I was alone and I have a lot of stress because I needed to learn alone everything that they learned in class. -Does it stop you from leading a normal life? A bit. It makes it harder to focus and I'm at school so that's a problem. Because of it I don't come out of my room and I don't do homework or study... My daydreams are mostly about movie's so I watch a lot more than I should and I just watch them on repeat. -Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming. Before I'm usually emotional (very , very happy, very angry, very stressed, very confident....) Any strong emotions. During I feel happy, confident, aprisheated, successful... But sometimes the daydream itself is a situation so I'm and stuff. After I'm calmer and some times very happy and some times happier than I was before but still . -Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life? I had those dreams for 2 years and a lot of the time I'm so I'm also in my dreams so the answer is real life. -Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you? Yes a lot. Even before I found out that it was a disorder I thought it was something of the sort (maybe a mental problem) and I was always afraid of that. -What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!) Most of the time it's the same little world I created and I'm the same caricature but maybe if I see a tv series I really like (it's usually tv series and not movie's) and it doesn't fit in my world I daydream about it for a couple days and then daydream again about my world. -Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ? I have no idea. I'm not even sure what OCD and ADHD mean. -Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real? Yes. 100%. but they feel more real then real life. - Does music help you dream? Yes. For sure. -Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be? Definitely. -Would you like to have more medical information about it? Yes. Definitely. |
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Post by mahnia82 on Oct 28, 2020 11:37:44 GMT
Hello! My name is Neus and I'm doing some very important academic work for me. It is about the disorder that this page talks about in the hope of making it visible, understanding it and listening to you. If there are any questions you don't want to answer, feel free to skip them! We're both learning and I wouldn't want to offend anyone. I need your help to get it. Anonymously, it would help me if you would answer this first set of questions: -Age: 17 -Gender: female How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD? About 10 years -How many hours a day can you spend dreaming? Various but on average between 10 to 13 -Did you tell anyone? Why? No, I’m afraid and ashamed for it 😔 -Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape? I think it helps me to escape from now and today problems I dont khow about my childhood. -Does it stop you from leading a normal life? Yes I lost lot of things I don’t live real life. -Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming. -Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life? -Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you? Yes I think so. -What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!) abilities , success , parents death,suicide,... -Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ? I don’t know. -Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real? Yes 100% - Does music help you dream? Yes I cant listen to music whiteout dreaming. -Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be?some of them yes some of them no just a fantasy. -Would you like to have more medical information about it?yes I need help too:) Thank you very much in advance, I'm sure it will be a great help. If you want to write me privately for anything, go ahead! neusjf12@gmail.com |
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Post by fellowmder on Oct 28, 2020 17:27:50 GMT
thanks for posting! great to hear it is being part of an academic work of yours.
Age:
19 years old
-Gender:
female
-How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD?
Although I remember daydreaming since childhood (maybe since 6 years old), I cannot call it maladaptive. It became really excessive 4 years ago.
-How many hours a day can you spend dreaming?
currently, 5 hours but not continuously-- like 30 min-40min max at a time. If i am listening to music or watching a show, that may even exceed 2 hours.
-Did you tell anyone? Why?
never told anyone about it. One day I was extremely overwhelmed by reality and tried talking to a close friend of mine. While trying to talk (through my choking throat, while crying), she said that she also daydreams and it is nothing new or something. It just hurt me a lot so i don't bring this talk out to anyone, although i do want to.
I have daydreamt a lot about telling someone that i have MD, or more like how i overcome it in my near future.
-Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape?
I escape anything that makes me stressed out or questions my work or skills. At times, a slight push out of my comfort zone can start turning the wheels. when i was young, I daydreamt because I was kind of socially awkward and distant from other people. after my loss of confidence and self-esteem, I tend to daydream when reality imposes that fact on me.
I also tend to daydream bad or trauma like stuffs when my days go well.
-Does it stop you from leading a normal life?
No. I skip a lot of classes out of fright because of the time I lose by daydreaming. I cannot contain my emotions or anger anymore and it has started making me see everyone around as negative. The guilt of daydreaming makes me always attentive when my family is talking in other room- i get really conscious and tend to think that they are talking bad about me- like how i keep on wasting away time.
since high school i have also developed this habit of counting hours i am left before the upcoming class day. its like i daydream, count hours i have-if not enough- i don't work, skip class and continue daydreaming
i think daydreaming makes me load myself with expectations i cannot achieve (i still continue to do it) and that makes me work less and less.
-Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming.
at times it is just a normal trigger working in the background- like listening to music, watching any show- makes me want to make a character and tell a story. Other times it is more when i cannot contain myself like when I THINK that my parents dotes my brother more or a day went very bad or I cannot keep on working because it is not achievable.
daydreaming kind of releases stress- like it releases out the good stresses which provokes a person to work and do his/her job. it reduces my headache instantly but then the aftermath is not gleaming
after daydreaming i feel guilty and find myself giving up on smallest of things. i do feel distant from my present once i am done daydreaming. I feel like i lost like half-a-day or so although it was 10-15 min long. this also happens sometimes after losing time on procrastinating
-Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life?
none i guess. i tend to overlay happy memories of real life with pathetic daydreaming stories.
-What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!)
i daydream about my future a lot making up alive people as characters. sometimes i have faceless personalities. they are more or less fictional realities for the future me. other times i become this story maker, not the protagonist. i become the bystander looking at the entire situation.
-Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you?
It is scary. What if it is not a disorder or what if i don't actually have it? it is more like I won't have an excuse of living this life. not that anyone is going to know about it but still, it will be like giving up on the only hope of a better future.
-Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ?
i don't think so. people on the forum have pointed a few times that i may be having mood swings but i feel like i might have made myself feel that way. i used to daydream about mental or physical illnesses which i might be trying to impose on my real self-like just faking it.
-Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real?
yes, everytime a daydream passes by, i feel this emptiness and reality sinking in-telling me how unreal that daydream was. this takes time, like 10-15 min or so for me. i cannot suddenly go back to reality, that dopamine still keeps on kicking inside-making me feel it as reality.
- Does music help you dream?
depends. sometimes it will, other times it won't
-Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be?
always, it is usually about me. even if i make a character, i mould her personality and successful life as something i want to achieve.
i tried testing something with myself. i usually daydream about a successful future-like going through hardships and hard work, achieving through grit and rigour- things i am not today. once i told myself to daydream a gloomy, worthless future for myself and the character- i couldn't do it-it got on my nerves, making me mad, restless and extremely anxious.
-Would you like to have more medical information about it?
i would want to understand how it really works in the brain- usually finding the source helps cure it. i want to understand whether other habits that i got are really caused by daydreams or they were always there and i didn't know about it.
thanks for reading!!
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Post by star on Oct 29, 2020 17:01:09 GMT
-Age: 22
-Gender: female
-How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD?
Since I was a kid. Maybe at 4 or 5
-How many hours a day can you spend dreaming?
I daydream even when I should do something else, so it might be take 10 hours
-Did you tell anyone? Why?
My online friends. I need to release it
-Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape?
Well, maybe.
-Does it stop you from leading a normal life?
It doesn't really stop me. But it disturb my productivity and my relationship with other.
-Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming.
Before: incomplete and cannot be focused
During: depends on the story. If I had a bad one I could feel my chest hurts, and could cry. If it's a good one I can't stop moving. Feels like there's too much energy I've had. And I should release it.
After: I could be more focused to do my real life work even if it just stay for 2 hours and I need to recharge my focusing-fuel by daydreaming
-Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life?
I have more happy memories of my dreams, but the happiest memories I've had is in my real life
-Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you?
I have no idea of this.
-What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!)
Sometime it's really dark (being tortured, deqth of beloved one etc) and sometime it's really makes me happy (having a lover, get a promotion, imagine about the music video when I got a music trigger) Overall, I'm always daydreaming about real life event that might be happen.
-Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ?
I never get a diagnose but I have some symptoms of adhd
-Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real?
Yes, I know they're not true
- Does music help you dream?
It triggers me a lot. I could even imagine the whole plot of the story, music video, or what could be happen to me based on the song by listening to the music.
-Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be?
YES. It's impossible to be what I wanted to be. There's some external pressure at my real life. So my character is the reflection of what I'd like to be
-Would you like to have more medical information about it?
Yes pls
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mar
New Daydreamer
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Post by mar on Oct 31, 2020 19:40:02 GMT
-Age: 16 -Gender: Female -How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD? I started daydreaming when I was 7, but it was just now that I discovered MD is a thing. -How many hours a day can you spend dreaming? I think maybe all the time, even when I am doing something mentally I am in a world that I have created in my mind. But there are cases when the task I am doing requires my whole attention and I completely concentrate on it, so I forget about MD, but It may make up roughly 4 hours of the entire day. -Did you tell anyone? Why? I have told 3 of my friends. Because when I came to realization that the time I spend on daydreaming was not normal at all, I started searching on Google. Just like that I found that I am MD. It was so shocking and I was so scared that I texted the person who always understands me. Despite this she couldn't completely understand me. I am not that close with my parents so I don't see a point in telling them. -Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape? Honestly, while doing my research about MD I found that childhood trauma may be the cause, but I don't remember any traumatic experience from that age when I started maladaptive daydreaming, or maybe there was something but that I don't remember. But still I belive that I started MD primarily out of boredom. -Does it stop you from leading a normal life? I think it keeps me from fully enjoying my real life. -Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming. Before I feel that overwhelming desire to daydream, it is so strong that I can barely resist it. While daydreaming the emotions and feelings are as real as it would've been irl. After daydreaming I feel bad for not being able to keep myself from daydreaming at the first place and maybe I feel satisfied too to have fulfilled my desire  -Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life? Maybe they are even. -Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you? Of course. I am sure not many people are aware of MD. But it doesn't scare me. Whatever they might think it doesn't change anything, because I know that it is a disorder and it is not just a regular daydreaming. -What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!) I have that one world/plot that is constantly with me. It's like years now. But there are others too that I make up throughout the time. -Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ? I can't tell for sure. -Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real? Absolutely. - Does music help you dream? It inspires me, yea. -Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be? Yes... -Would you like to have more medical information about it? Absolutely. I wish it was taken more seriously. |
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Post by blueberrymuffin on Dec 1, 2020 13:39:46 GMT
Hi, i used to suffer from this disorder. I didn't even know this was a thing, I always viewed this as a nonfunctional defense mechanism. So i recently found out about this, started reading about it and registered to this forum to contribute to your academic study and possibly to help others. So keep in mind that most of my answers will be in retrospective. Age: 30 -Gender: f -How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD? It probably started when I was 11-12 and it kept going till mid-twenties. -How many hours a day can you spend dreaming? I used to daydream before I went to sleep and when I took walks. Probably around 2-3 hours. -Did you tell anyone? Why? I only shared it with a friend with the same condition. I wouldn't tell anyone else bc I was ashamed. -Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape? I didn't experience a major trauma however I was a child. My mom was depressed so she took it out on us. My sister and school friends bullied me and daydreams helped me escape my reality. Even when everything got better I kept going though. -Does it stop you from leading a normal life? It didn't interfere with my academic life, I was always very successful. However it did interfere with my relationships. I had this perfect notion of a boyfriend in my dreams and there isnt a single person who can fulfill these expectations. -Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming. I used to feel anxious before daydreaming, and calmer once I started, sort of like OCD. Afterwards mostly guilty. -Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life? Real life. -Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you? Like I said, I still don't view this as a mental disorder but more like a nonfunctional defense mechanism, you know, more advanced than regression but worse than sublimation. (I'm a doctor myself, not a psychiatrist, but I'm really interested in psychiatry and I read about it all the time.) -What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!) Mostly the same. I had this world with certain characters in it. Of course every once in a while I was inspired by movies, books, daily events and changed it a little bit. What I observed was I used the daydreams as an outlet of my repressed feelings. If I was feeling lonely it was about relationships and friendships. If I was bullied it was about revenge and so on. -Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ? Not when I used to daydream but afterwards I suffered from major depression. I believe maladaptive daydreaming was a coping mechanism for me and without it, depression kicked in. -Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real? Of course, always. - Does music help you dream? Music was a major trigger. I also noticed that marijuana is a trigger for me. Even now when I smoke pot I sometimes find myself daydreaming. But when I'm sober, I don't feel the urge to daydream and I don't enjoy it anymore. I rarely try to daydream after I experience something very traumatic, just to distract myself but it doesn't feel the same anymore. -Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be? Definitely. I was always a character myself in those dreams. I think how I stopped was when I realized I'll never be as perfect as I'm in those dreams, people around me will never be that perfect either. I realized I'll keep being disappointed in myself and people around me if I kept daydreaming. So at first I sort of forced myself to stop daydreaming. When I started taking antidepressants it helped. It was also around the same time I started studying for the medical specialty exams, I was super busy and motivated for the exam so after a while I stopped even  about daydreaming. As life become more busy and fulfilling, I left this habit behind me for good. The fact that I have many good friends and a healthy relationship helped, but that kind of happened after I stopped daydreaming, because I let people in and valued real life experiences over artificial ones. -Would you like to have more medical information about it? Out of medical interest, yes. Sorry I got sidetracked in some of your questions, but I'm hoping my experiences will also help others and maybe inspire you to examine other aspects of the condition. Any questions are welcome, good luck! |
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Post by rere on Dec 5, 2020 5:34:57 GMT
- Age: 20 - Gender: female - How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD? Probably 5 years - How many hours a day can you spend dreaming? The average is 3 hours, it depends on the inspiration - Did you tell anyone? Why? No, I always felt embarrassed to tell anyone. Also I just learn about it, so maybe if I read more and felt more comfortable I will tell my friend. - Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape? When I’m stressed it harder for me to daydream, but I will say it kind of escape from an unsatisfying life - Does it stop you from leading a normal life? Yes, I can’t focus on my classes and studying - Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming? Before: I can’t focus, there is no particular feeling During: depends on what the daydreaming is about, but overall I feel more alive & satisfied After: embarrassed and - Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life? In my dreams for sure - Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you? No - What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!)I live in a place that I hate and I struggle with starting and maintaining friendships, so what I dream about is future me living in another country with pets and having good friends - Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ?I have never been diagnosed, but I think I might be depressed (my main is struggle that I can’t find my purpose in life) - Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real? Yes - Does music help you dream? Yes. Also walking keeps the dream flow
-Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be?Yes
-Would you like to have more medical information about it?Of course |
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Post by inmymind on Aug 18, 2021 13:01:02 GMT
Re-doing this nearly a year later!
- Age: 15
-Gender: then: currently questioning, but using she/her pronouns.
now: unlabelled. he/they pronouns
-How long do you think you've been suffering from MADD?
I've been an immersive daydreamer since preschool - I have vivid memories of some of my age 3/4 daydreams (they were weird, and many of them involved giants juggling my classmates. I don't know why.) It only really became MD (characterised in this instance by the fact that it negatively impacts reality/my everyday life) when I entered a prestigious, high-stress school at age 11.
New information: I realise now that I first started becoming a maladaptive daydreamer when I was 8. However, it wasn't that bad and was more of something I did when I was bored. the only reason I'm adding it now is that I realise that I still occasionally continue the same daydream I had back then. If that daydream can last over 5 years, I'd say it counts as maladaptive.
-How many hours a day can you spend dreaming?
Then: When I don't have school? Easily 5 on average. When I have school or work, then maybe 1/2? It really depends on how much I am enjoying my current daydreaming. On a good day about 10% of my mind is taken up with daydreams. On a bad day? 80%.
Now: When I have school, I'd say maybe 2-3 hours. Weekends? Maybe 2-5 per day, max. Holidays? Easily 4-7 hours a day.
-Did you tell anyone? Why?
I've told my parents and my therapist - my therapist due to personal reasons and my parents because of necessity. They needed an explanation for me randomly smiling, banging into things, zoning out, and walking in circles for hours on end.
New information: I've told the people in my life I trust the most.
-Do you think your dreaming is due to childhood traumas or stress situations, where it helps you to escape?
Then: Not particularly. In fact, whenever I am in an intense situation, the daydreams stop for hours afterword.
Now: Absolutely. I started maladaptive daydreaming when I was 8, after we moved internationally, my dad became an alcoholic & abusive to my mum, my dog died, and my parents were in desperate need of divorce. I daydream to escape, as much as anything. However the same is still true about the intense situations.
-Does it stop you from leading a normal life?
It's caused me to fail classes and lose friendships, so you decide on that one. (Still the same)
-Describe how you feel before, during and after the dreaming.
Then: Before - angsty, can't sit still, constantly rubbing eyes, can't focus
During - happy, full of energy
After - annoyed, confused, restless
Now: Before - restless and fidgety, overwhelmed and stressed
During - full of energy
After - calmer, more ready to get back to what I was doing despite wanting to continue daydreaming
-Do you have more happy memories of your dreams or real life?
Then: Daydreams, no question. However I personally am not a character in my daydreams so I'm not sure how that works for this question.
New information: Still the same answer, although I now have a lot more happy memories than I did back then.
-Have you considered the possibility that if you say it, they'll think it's not a disorder as such? Does that scare you?
Then: The idea of people not recognising MD as a disorder or something serious does annoy me, but I personally don't consider it a disorder.
Now: Yes. Maladaptive daydreaming is a type of dissociative absorption. It is a disorder and it needs to be taken seriously.
-What are your dreams like? ( always the same, different. . . you can put an anecdote in!)
As I said, all my daydreams are essentially fanfiction for books and movies I've seen/read. Some daydreams I can come back to years later, others last for only a week or so. I never forget a daydream, I just put it to the side.
New information: Looking back, I can see that my daydreams have always centered around fandoms of books or tv shows. Movies, fanfics, etc all give me inspiration for my daydreams. I'm not ever a character in my daydreams.
My daydreams are never about daily life. All of my daydreams are centered around events or people from MCs past coming to light, where his friends/team sees the events (via video, etc) or people and learning more/being surprised by the MC. I have also noticed that my MC usually has a past in sex work, although the specifics of this change each daydream.
I have many different daydreams I can choose to go to on demand. some are no longer engaging to me and others have lasted me literal years.
-Do you suffer or have you suffered from depression, OCD, ADHD. . . ?
Then: Depression, 2 types of anxiety, and cyclothymia to be exact.
Now: I was a self-diagnosing brat back then. I just have anxiety, although I am in the process of getting possibly diagnosed for adhd and/or autism
-Are you fully aware that your dreams are NOT real?
Yes. (still the same).
- Does music help you dream?
Absolutely. So does fanfiction and especially youtube editing music. All of my daydreams involve characters and plots taken from books and movies, never anyone from real life. (still the same)
-Do you think your characters are a reflection of what you'd like to be?
No, not at all. I mean some things, yeah. But only things like their sense of humour or singing ability, small stuff like that. Nothing for real.
New information: my characters have way too much trauma but they're all hot and one of them gives me gender envy
-Would you like to have more medical information about it?
Absolutely. I want as much awareness of MD as possible as well as any research data possible. (still the same)
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, but probably since I was 5 or 6.
tears) very easily because of this.
about daydreaming. As life become more busy and fulfilling, I left this habit behind me for good. The fact that I have many good friends and a healthy relationship helped, but that kind of happened after I stopped daydreaming, because I let people in and valued real life experiences over artificial ones. 