Post by marshaklein on Feb 9, 2019 15:19:28 GMT
Hello there. My name is Marsha Klein, except it isn't really, it's just the name I use on social media to stop my employers snooping into my life.
I first came across the term maladaptive daydreaming a few days ago. As I read the thread I thought, "hang on, I've done that my whole life" I honestly had no idea that it was a "thing", I just thought it was me being somehow weird. As such I've never told anyone about it, I thought no one would understand and anyway it was private, my thing, my little bit of escapism.
It started in childhood, making up stories in my head and the characters changed daily but then at about age 10 I invented another character and he has been with me ever since. I'm now 53 but my character has never been older than 35. As you can imagine, having him around for 43 years, he has a rich life story and a cast of supporting characters. His story remained fairly constant until 2012. I was staying with a friend in America, the weather was unbearably hot for a pale Scot like myself so I spent the time whilst my friend was at work, sitting on her back porch and going into full daydream mode to an extent I've never done before or since. I used the time to modify his personality traits and physical characteristics, to make him more edgy, more fun. I had just split up with my partner of 8 years and I think that may have had some bearing on this intense phase.
I'm unsure if I should be using the word maladaptive though, my inner world doesn't impinge on the real one. The only time I've felt annoyed at being interrupted was during the 2012 reboot in America. Once I returned to the UK things returned to their normal level. As a teenager I thought that it would something I would grow out of but I never have. There will be times when I do it more often and sometimes less but it's never stopped and I wouldn't want it to, it would be like saying goodbye to an old friend.
I'm sure there are reasons why some people do this and others don't. I've read about links to ADD and OCD but neither applies to me. I've also heard that it can happen when people have difficult childhoods. Mine wasn't especially difficult, I didn't think so at the time, but as an adult I can see that there were challenges, especially around my mother.
Anyway, it's quite comforting to know that's it's not just me, I'm not just this lone person doing this weird thing
I first came across the term maladaptive daydreaming a few days ago. As I read the thread I thought, "hang on, I've done that my whole life" I honestly had no idea that it was a "thing", I just thought it was me being somehow weird. As such I've never told anyone about it, I thought no one would understand and anyway it was private, my thing, my little bit of escapism.
It started in childhood, making up stories in my head and the characters changed daily but then at about age 10 I invented another character and he has been with me ever since. I'm now 53 but my character has never been older than 35. As you can imagine, having him around for 43 years, he has a rich life story and a cast of supporting characters. His story remained fairly constant until 2012. I was staying with a friend in America, the weather was unbearably hot for a pale Scot like myself so I spent the time whilst my friend was at work, sitting on her back porch and going into full daydream mode to an extent I've never done before or since. I used the time to modify his personality traits and physical characteristics, to make him more edgy, more fun. I had just split up with my partner of 8 years and I think that may have had some bearing on this intense phase.
I'm unsure if I should be using the word maladaptive though, my inner world doesn't impinge on the real one. The only time I've felt annoyed at being interrupted was during the 2012 reboot in America. Once I returned to the UK things returned to their normal level. As a teenager I thought that it would something I would grow out of but I never have. There will be times when I do it more often and sometimes less but it's never stopped and I wouldn't want it to, it would be like saying goodbye to an old friend.
I'm sure there are reasons why some people do this and others don't. I've read about links to ADD and OCD but neither applies to me. I've also heard that it can happen when people have difficult childhoods. Mine wasn't especially difficult, I didn't think so at the time, but as an adult I can see that there were challenges, especially around my mother.
Anyway, it's quite comforting to know that's it's not just me, I'm not just this lone person doing this weird thing
, that sounds a lot like me!" I too am not certain about the term "maladaptive", but I do have to admit that at least for a part of my youth that there was a "maladaptive" element to it. It has been a major part of my life, and even at age 62 it is something that I still do.
