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Post by ssdreamer00 on Jan 16, 2019 10:24:07 GMT
Hi everyone, I can't believe I've just stumbled onto this forum. I seriously thought for years that there was something really wrong with me, and especially recently, have felt so alone about MD. I have never met anyone else who has expressed having this or let alone talking about it. So before I start, I guess I want to say thank you so much for being here and sharing your experiences. I have been daydreaming ever since I was at least 10 years old or so, so its been years. Until now, I didn't realize how much MD was disrupting my life. I went through middle school and high school with it being an escape that I could run to after school, and I love the feeling. It's an addition that just takes over my body, I find myself doing it without blinking an eye. It hit hardest starting this last September, when I began my freshman year of college. This first semester was honestly awful, and I can attribute a lot of that to my MD. Moving away from home to a place where I knew nobody and felt even more alone, dreaming became even more of a beautiful thing. I am on holiday break now and will be going back in less than a week, and I am terrified. I thought these last 4 weeks home would ground me and I tried to keep myself from the day dreams, but I couldn't do it. The way I dream is by pacing in my room blaring (mainly) the same songs over and over, creating these scenarios in my head with people I encounter every day. This dreaming didn't worry me much until this semester. Because of it, I remove myself from social situations with friends to go and pace in my room (when my roommate is gone). I also was recently diagnosed with anxiety, and am trying to understand how it plays into my dreaming. The pattern I've seen this past semester is I get freaked out being around people and shut down, portraying a version of myself I don't want to be. Subconsciously, I know that I could escape to my room and recreate the scenarios with a version that I would have wanted to happen in real life. It has gotten beyond unhealthy. Now, I am about to begin my second semester and still feel like I haven't established deep relationships with any of my classmates. Friends also notice that I disappear for hours on end, and I have no way to explain it. Aside from daily encounters, I have had a nonstop daydream about a crush I have had on a classmate that is now beyond healthy. These past few weeks of holiday, not a day has gone by that I haven't created a fantasy surrounding him. I feel like I can't stop any of this and am freaking out even more knowing I have to go back in a few days. Anybody, please help. What are tips that you use to try and distract yourself from dreaming? I'm afraid if I don't stop now, than my anxiety and depression will only get worse, and who knows where that could lead. I really don't want to think about that. I would appreciate any advice or comments you have, thank you so much for reading my late night vent! (it's 2 AM and I just got out of a vivid dream)
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Post by katie on Jan 16, 2019 14:22:09 GMT
Hi Welcome to daydream in blue. Its hard to distract yourself from daydreaming all the time but there are ways that I learned to control it a bit better. I usually focus on what my triggers are and work on them like when I am bored I daydream so I started to write a story book which relaxes the mind. I also go for mindfulness walks. Its hard because any little bit of time to myself I want to daydream but looking at different ways to control it. I have social anxiety so when I do feel lonely instead of contacting my friends I daydream. I am trying to keep in contact with them more and work on my anxiety.
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Post by Sam on Jan 16, 2019 18:16:35 GMT
There are many different strategies that can be implemented to help with your daydreaming. I agree with Katie, mindfulness can really help. It helps teach you to be more present and to accept your feelings, "good" or "bad", and to not grasp onto them or to push them away. There are numerous threads in the MD Help/Links and Research section that have tips and tricks for coping with your daydreaming, so it would be worth it to look over there for some more in-depth explanations of those strategies.
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Post by Dimmer on Jan 17, 2019 15:02:12 GMT
Welcome! Agreed with the posts above, also, one of the biggest things that has been helping me is to really force myself to put effort into keeping in touch with people. It's hard for me to make and maintain friendships but being a bit social really opens up a bunch of opportunity and helps keep me grounded.
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