Did almost everyone's DD start in childhood?

[roxanne]

My DD has been with me for as long as I have memories.  Over the years I needed to do less to make it happen; in fact it is pretty much always with me now.  Whereas, as a child, it took place in distinct segments of time, accompanied by music, swinging, pacing, twirling, riding in a car, etc.  But I was at least around 4 or 5.  I had a pretty idyllic childhood, with a loving family and lots of friends.  So no trauma at all.  I have noticed that just about everyone says they started in childhood.  (With the exception of Greyartist, who believes it has a hormonal basis.  Maybe her experience is different.)  Has anyone had no experience in childhood and then started DD'ing in adulthood?  There are different ages when different parts of the brain develop, and I'm guessing the brain part involving DD'ing develops early.

[Truthful Alibi]

Mine started in childhood, when I was about 7. I think it was because I was bullied, but then I would sometimes DD before that age, but since I was only young then it was probably because I wanted to play by myself.

I think that most people start DDing in childhood because as a child it's only natural to create fanatasy worlds or imaginary friends, and then for us MDers it becomes a habit. And then an addicition. Etcetera etcetera.

Oh, so I'm not the only one who DDs in a car then. But I bet you don't wind down the window and rest your head there while you DD! : p

To anyone who's reading this and doesn't know how old I am, don't worry, I don't do this when I'm driving, I'm not old enough to drive. : p

[jungle forrest]

I did not always have it. That seems to be the norm here.It did start at age 11 though- kind of borderline child/ adolesent.  A lot of stuff was going on plus I had a long ride to 6th grade on a bus where I knew no one.

[debbie downer]

yeah, i was 10. the first time i ever remember daydreaming, i came up with all these characters while i was in the car. it was kind of a long drive so i just daydreamed to pass the time and the next thing i knew, i couldn't stop. i thought about my daydream characters that night before i went to sleep, and then i did it again the next night, and the next, etc. i would daydream whenever i was bored in class or at home. no pacing or anything. also, i had just moved to a new neighborhood that year and i think that part of the reason why i spent so much time daydreaming was because i didn't really know anyone in my new neighborhood so i didn't have many friends, so i just made up some in my head. :P then, i got tired of those daydream characters and their story two years later when i was 12 and i actually stopped daydreaming for awhile, but then a few months later it started all over again with all new characters and an all new story, and this time it came with pacing. :/ i've had that second daydream story/characters ever since then.

[thetxbelle]

I would like to hear more about the hormonal theory

[Rachel S]

Hey.

 

I don't think mine started in childhood. Not sure. I think when I was a child I just had normal DDs like other children. Nothing excessive, though I did have a bit of a traumatic time.

 

I first became concious of doing it when I was around 17 or 18 (I'm 22 now). After a particularly bad year. Now I'm pretty bad with it, DDing almost constantly.

 

What I will say though is that ever since I was a child, I've always been deep in thought. I'm a big thinker and have a vivid imagination (obviously, we all do here). So... maybe I did have MD as a child but didn't see it as a problem so wasn't aware.

 

[greyartist]

I did NOT have it as a child. Mine started this past april, I am 45yrs old and it came with anxiety-dpression-lack of emotions-lack of sleep-unable to concentrate and other perimenopause problems. I have been treated with estrogine, antidepression meds, anxiety meds, antiscycotic meds, sleeping pills, counciling. Right now I am taking abilify(antiscycotic- it has helped the most in being able to concentrate at work, hasn't stop the DDs but slowed them down.) and a sleeping pill and the estrogine. I have an anxiety med if needed but that seems to have reduced with the estrogine.

I still have the DDs, I am still not as emotional or caring as I was. But the abilify has helped allot.

[Skylar Grey]

Well its difficult for me to pinpoint exactly when i got MD. When i was little like 9 whenever i got in the car i would always  turn on the radio and stare out the window imagining I was flying alongside the car. This always made me feel happy and powerful in my dull life. Then i started to imagine characters to fly alongside me. Then finally i thought what if the characters didnt stop existing just because the car ride was over. So i added a whole plot line to my characters. And i was around 11 then.

[roxanne]

It seems like everyone's DD'ing starts between 5-10, roughly.  Again, this indicates to me that is strictly biological, as our brains develop at similar rates.  I'm sure that the DD'ing part of the brain (known as the default system, frontal gyrus, insula, and parts of temporal lobe) develops at this time & that's why it starts then.  As another example, the part of brain where schizophrenia develops is a higher function & develops later.  Thus people who are schizophrenic start experiencing symptoms between 15 & 25 for most part.  This is unrelated to MD.  MD is also not at all dependant on trauma.  If someone who has MD anyway experiences trauma, their DD's will be colored by this experience, but they would DD any way.  And certainly someone who DD's often may be less inspired to seek outside companionship, so on average probably is less likely to develop social skills.  They may or may not be shy, introverted, etc. to begin with.  So all this enters in.  

Also, I find it interesting that the parts of brain involved with DD'ing, which I assume are over active with us, also are involved with our capacity to become emotionally involved with music, with mood stability, with ability to switch gears (something one can't do well if they have OCD, with addictions & eating disorders.)  I worked for years in research setting studying people with brain abnormalities and found it fascinating.  Still do.  I think researchers would find us very interesting.

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

There's a lot of variety with this condition.  People keep looking for common threads, but the more we do that, the more exceptions that pop up.  For example, I don't do any movement, and music doesn't make me daydream.  My daydreaming has been going on for my entire life, and I'm 31.  I know other people have mentioned starting daydreaming later in life, so don't feel like you're the only one.

[roxanne]

Who knows?  My mother always told me that from very early on, I was able to entertain myself.  My sister liked lots of attention & people around, but I was very easy, because I required so little, and was always in a good mood.  I guess so.

[littleschrodinger'scat]

I remember very early on having a world of my own and dissociation. When I was 2 or 3 my world was based on        X-men. I must of been 3 when I told my mother that, " Sometimes I felt like I were in a book," and, " I had trouble telling whether I and the things around me were real." These things did not start to become a huge prblem until 7th grade. I became so obsessed with my world ( which at the time I still based on television shows ) that I would watch the show it was based on every day 5-8 pm even if I had already seen the show. Watching would give me inspiration for my world. The problem was, I refused to visit or even speak to my friends because I did not want them to invite me over because I did not want to miss the television show ( or any daydreaming time ).  It got to the point where I began to refuse to go to school. I missed 58 days of school in 8th grade and was late 72 times. When I was late it was so my mother would take me on 45 minute- 2 hour drives ( which I spent daydreaming ).