ATTENTION, ATTENTION PLEASE - VERY IMPORNATNT INFORMATION

[Leonardo A]

 

People, please look for help immediately. There is not such thing as the one you are talking about.

You are wasting precious time of your life.

 

What you are describing is the symptoms of Racing Thoughts which is at the same time a symptom Bipolar Disorder I for those who have hypomania.

 

I tell you that because I also visited this blog  when I ws desperate, about a year ago. I remeber that I thought that my thoughts could be ADHD. But I have being treated with mood stabilizers that helped me to get back to reality.

 

Lithium for me was the best medication I have ever taken for this Racing Thoughts, I was so concentrated, with peace, my mind was normal, I could read without I having thoughts coming to my mind. It was wonderful.

 

Please stop thinking that you have a rare mental illness, and start helping both yourself and those who are in the same situation. Reseacrh and seek a psychiatrist's help.

 

Good Luck

 

 

 

 

[Ash Lumiere]

I agree that they worded it very poorly. I believe MD exist however my own point is about comorbidity. Alot of same illnesses have genetic overlap. That is why you may find families where one person has schizophrenia and the other bipolar disorder. Also cormobid illnesses may interact with MD, like may make it worse. MD is alot like racing thoughts, except racing thoughts don't always have to be visual images under that criteria. however there is overlap between the two, and i think it's important to note that, since certain medications target disorganized thought process/rumination. Like I take medication commonly used for schizophrenia but it works just as well for bipolar disorder, because the two have the overlap of disorganized thought. Maladaptive Daydreaming is disorganized thought as well. It's automatic and distracting from things around you. I wonder if medication that helps with those symptoms in other disorders may help with the symptoms for MD as well. I also agree that MD needs to be classified as it's own condition. Unlike Leonardo i don't believe its the same thing as Bipolar Disorder, I just believe there is a comorbidity since alot of people with bipolar disorder often complain about daydreaming problems as well. Comorbidity means that if you have one disorder you are alot more likely to have another disorder with it (due to genetic overlap)

Kia Hood said:

There is a huge number of mental illnesses out there, making it only natural that a lot of them are similar and share certain symptoms, which is why a lot of people misdiagnos themselves/get misdiagnosed at first only to find out what they're having is something completely different. That, however, does not mean that one mental illness does not exist because there is already one out there wih similar symptoms. 

Furthermore, there are two very important reasons why diagnosis is needed. One, so you can get medication to treat the illness should it affect your life too much and you want to do something about it etc. Two, because you feel like a certain part of you is different in comparison to other people and once you find out that there is an actual name for it, that other people have it to, it gives you comfort and makes you feel less alone. The latter part is especially important in this reply, because I think you don't quite understand that people identifying themselves with MD do so because they can relate. A lot of people have spent quite the amount of time doing research and their symptoms and thus found out about MD, meaning that if what they were having was actually racing thoughts, they probably would have found that instead.

I get that you're only trying to help, but I find it a little rude to be honest that you make such a huge announcement just because this is how it's been for you. You could've made a post about racing thoughts and how you find it to be similar to MD instead of stating that we're "wasting precious time of [our lives]". Which is not only rude because you're claiming us to be wasting our time by identifying with a mental illness that describes our lives, your also implying that what we're identifying does not exist, which is just plain rude. How would you feel about someone saying "You don't have cramps/stomach ache, you're just hungry!" No. Just because there are similarities, does not mean one thing does not exist, or rather the thing you claim to have does not exist. Please think about that before making a huge announcement without any further proof (you could have at least written down the symtpoms of racing thoughts and why you think that exists and we all have that and not MD).

[Emma]

MD is alot like racing thoughts, except racing thoughts don't always have to be visual images under that criteria. however there is overlap between the two, 

In what way is MD like racing thoughts?  I see no similarities, but I've only read the Wiki description of racing thoughts.

You mention that MD includes disorganized thoughts, but (again, just from the Wiki descriptions- I'm no therapists), MD feels nothing at all whatsoever like disordered/disorganized thoughts.  The description could not be further from what I experience with my daydreaming.  You mention also that it is intrusive and automatic, but I don't believe this to be the case either though I can definitely see how there could be some similarities.  My urge to daydream does pop up sometimes when I do not expect it, but if I think about it, there is almost always a trigger of some sort- even if it is just boredom or fatigue or anxiety.  It never feels like it is something I can't break out of or stop doing if necessary.  It doesn't feel like I have no choice in the matter.  Instead, it feels like an addiction- something I'm totally aware that I'm doing, that I'm willfully doing, that I wish I weren't doing but I do it anyway because it's pleasant and it helps me cope with things and I enjoy it in the moment, even though the long-term effect of doing it so much is problematic, and if there is something else that I need to be doing and I will myself to think about that instead, I totally can- it's just that frequently I don't.  That is the big distinction.

Ash Lumiere said:

I agree that they worded it very poorly. I believe MD exist however my own point is about comorbidity. Alot of same illnesses have genetic overlap. That is why you may find families where one person has schizophrenia and the other bipolar disorder. Also cormobid illnesses may interact with MD, like may make it worse. MD is alot like racing thoughts, except racing thoughts don't always have to be visual images under that criteria. however there is overlap between the two, and i think it's important to note that, since certain medications target disorganized thought process/rumination. Like I take medication commonly used for schizophrenia but it works just as well for bipolar disorder, because the two have the overlap of disorganized thought. Maladaptive Daydreaming is disorganized thought as well. It's automatic and distracting from things around you. I wonder if medication that helps with those symptoms in other disorders may help with the symptoms for MD as well. I also agree that MD needs to be classified as it's own condition. Unlike Leonardo i don't believe its the same thing as Bipolar Disorder, I just believe there is a comorbidity since alot of people with bipolar disorder often complain about daydreaming problems as well. Comorbidity means that if you have one disorder you are alot more likely to have another disorder with it (due to genetic overlap)

Kia Hood said:

There is a huge number of mental illnesses out there, making it only natural that a lot of them are similar and share certain symptoms, which is why a lot of people misdiagnos themselves/get misdiagnosed at first only to find out what they're having is something completely different. That, however, does not mean that one mental illness does not exist because there is already one out there wih similar symptoms. 

Furthermore, there are two very important reasons why diagnosis is needed. One, so you can get medication to treat the illness should it affect your life too much and you want to do something about it etc. Two, because you feel like a certain part of you is different in comparison to other people and once you find out that there is an actual name for it, that other people have it to, it gives you comfort and makes you feel less alone. The latter part is especially important in this reply, because I think you don't quite understand that people identifying themselves with MD do so because they can relate. A lot of people have spent quite the amount of time doing research and their symptoms and thus found out about MD, meaning that if what they were having was actually racing thoughts, they probably would have found that instead.

I get that you're only trying to help, but I find it a little rude to be honest that you make such a huge announcement just because this is how it's been for you. You could've made a post about racing thoughts and how you find it to be similar to MD instead of stating that we're "wasting precious time of [our lives]". Which is not only rude because you're claiming us to be wasting our time by identifying with a mental illness that describes our lives, your also implying that what we're identifying does not exist, which is just plain rude. How would you feel about someone saying "You don't have cramps/stomach ache, you're just hungry!" No. Just because there are similarities, does not mean one thing does not exist, or rather the thing you claim to have does not exist. Please think about that before making a huge announcement without any further proof (you could have at least written down the symtpoms of racing thoughts and why you think that exists and we all have that and not MD).