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Post by Wynn on Jul 24, 2019 17:12:07 GMT
Does anyone else get lost in daydreaming situations that cause anxiety? For example, we're having landlord issues and I get caught up in "Crap, what if I run into her while running to the mailbox today?" And then getting stuck daydreaming all of the anxiety inducing possibilities, what she's gonna say, how I'd like to respond, how I'd actually probably respond, the consequences of each.. I get caught up in those situations over and over throughout the day and those are the ones that are problematic for me. The ones where I'm in control and creating the worlds and the characters are more therapy and an escape from the ones I can't stop, the panic-inducing anxiety ones that play and spin and collide off each other and really have to work to come out of.
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Marcydel
Junior Daydreamer
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Post by Marcydel on Jul 24, 2019 18:10:26 GMT
I was just  about that today. Some of my DDs are soothing, self-esteem boostingc and distracting in a good way, while others contain terrible, yet very possible scenarios with devastating emotional outcomes for me and people I care about. I found that while these daydreams are extremely unpleasant and genuinely upset me for a while (Side note: and when people notice that I’ve gone quiet and solemn, I usually have to make something up to explain why my mood changed), at the same time I can’t seem to be able to tear myself away from them during the episode, like something in me just won’t let me stop worrying. I’m preventing myself from really enjoying my life because my brain goes haywire and a made-up trauma with very real emotions plays out in my head. In fact, I had a couple of episodes today, and I’m currently on a big vacation. |
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Post by Sam on Jul 24, 2019 18:50:16 GMT
I think that this is an extension of the ruminating that a lot of people do, and that people who have anxiety disorders are much more susceptible to. Ruminating about possible future scenarios is partially our brains way of preparing ourselves in case that scenario actually happens. Because people who daydream maladaptively tend to be very visual and imaginative, it sort of takes that ruminating to the next level.
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Post by Wynn on Jul 24, 2019 19:27:42 GMT
I was just thinking about that today. Some of my DDs are soothing, self-esteem boostingc and distracting in a good way, while others contain terrible, yet very possible scenarios with devastating emotional outcomes for me and people I care about. I found that while these daydreams are extremely unpleasant and genuinely upset me for a while (Side note: and when people notice that I’ve gone quiet and solemn, I usually have to make something up to explain why my mood changed), at the same time I can’t seem to be able to tear myself away from them during the episode, like something in me just won’t let me stop worrying. I’m preventing myself from really enjoying my life because my brain goes haywire and a made-up trauma with very real emotions plays out in my head. In fact, I had a couple of episodes today, and I’m currently on a big vacation. Thank you, Marcydel, this is exactly it! I have PTSD so I ruminate on past traumas, current anxieties, possible problems, and then when it gets too much I retreat into the feel good daydreams that I can control (but still have trouble concentrating on) and it just doesn't stop. I'm working on stopping the cycle before it starts. Meditating, being mindful, dismissing any anxieties before they get started like "I might run into landlady at the mailbox today, but I shouldn't worry about it until/unless it happens." I'm volunteering at a dog rescue every day to build up my confidence and stop isolating. I try to stop the spin before it goes out of my control. I just realized the trigger this morning, I found myself on pinterest pinning characters to my daydreaming board and asked myself "how did I get here?" To escape the other daydreams, to take my mind off those anxieties and worries. Neither are what I want to be doing but one is a coping mechanism, but it's not healthy. I need help to stop the bad ones so I don't need the good ones. It was an epiphany moment for me. I'm feeling very "duh!" about it right now. I don't know how it took me sooo long to see it! |
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about that today. Some of my DDs are soothing, self-esteem boostingc and distracting in a good way, while others contain terrible, yet very possible scenarios with devastating emotional outcomes for me and people I care about. 
