How do you know if your daydreaming is severe?

[Rene Walker]

Hello!

I didn't know about MDD until last year, when a friend casually mentioned it to me and I realized that I've had it most to my entire life. I used to think it was normal, and I would tell people that I was super imaginative and creative. I would even talk about it with my family, because I thought it was a normal thing and I didn't see a problem with doing that. I told my mom that I daydream at least once every five minutes, and she got really freaked out and claimed I might have epilepsy. 

Anyways, I suspected I had a mild case of MDD, but I've never met anyone else who has it (I never talk about it with the friend that introduced me to it) so I've never had anything else to compare it to until now, and I'm realizing that I daydream way more than a lot of people describe on this website. I'm not sure, but I think I involuntarily daydream once every five minutes. My daydreams vary, so during some I'm half conscious of what's going on around me, and others are so big I have to pull myself out of it, and I'm usually confused and have to remind myself of what's happening around me. I'm not sure the specific number, but I think the big ones happen a couple times per hour (I've tried to take count, but I always forget and can't focus) I always mouth and make gestures without noticing, and a bunch of people have called me out on it. I've involuntarily zoned out during several movies and plays that I've wanted to see for ages, which is really frustrating because most of the time I can't control it. I zone out during youtube videos, and have to rewind several times. I always zone out during conversations, etc. 
I really try to control how often I daydream, but it's ridiculously exhausting and i suffer a lot of withdrawal symptoms. I don't know any of my triggers, because I feel like i just daydream nonstop. It's kind of routine, and I don't know how to break that routine. 
Is this severe? And if it is, does anyone know how to treat it? I'm honestly kind of desperate, I'm really tired of daydreaming all the time.

[Alex]

As a human services major, my rule of thumb for gauging if really anything mental illness is a problem per se is how maladaptive is it, as in how counterproductive, how damaging to various dimensions of your life and does it impede your goals?

I zone out during stuff too although often it's just because I'm lost in thought; I feel so silly when I realize I wasn't paying attention at all and have to go back. But the zoning out during plays sounds especially stressful; I love musicals myself and I would hate it if I did that with an anticipated show. As you said you don't seem to be super in control of it which would lead me to think yours is more maladaptive.

I often question this because I definitely daydream excessively, far beyond the average, but it's largely adaptive as it increases my functioning in many ways and doesn't get in the way of college (I may space out a bit during class, but most classes are too slow for me anyway and it doesn't seem to affect my grades). The only thing that makes me think it's a problem is I'm a very reclusive person and I can't imagine all the people in my head exactly encourage me to go outside myself for human connection. But I still never go more than a week without engaging with a real-life human.

I'm not the expert to ask, but I would say a lot of what MDD is is habit. With "withdrawal" symptoms it would suggest you heavily rely on it for the purposes it serves, whether to cure boredom or cope with other unpleasant emotions or situations. Which really makes it a matter of addressing those underlying reasons while simultaneously looking elsewhere to satisfy those things when they do become an issue. As an alternative method is used more, the hope is the urge will decrease as you weaken the connection daydreaming has with relief

Dr. Somer is doing an online treatment trial of some sort later this year, not sure if they're still taking participants but I'll be interested to see what it involves.

[Tinkerbell]

My MM ranges from Ok to severe. 

For me a severe episode results in me being quite manic with my day dreaming, laughing or smiling to myself for no reason while I am in my daydreams, sometimes talking in the different voices of the characters I am day dreaming about in public. Uncontrollably. This for me is severe. 

There was a popular post on here from a member who cured themselves of it. For me, i have started meditating and keeping a diary where I monitor everything I do. Being attentive to detail helps me to focus on what I am doing in real life.

[Rene Walker]

Thank you!! this was really helpful

Tinkerbell said:

My MM ranges from Ok to severe. 

For me a severe episode results in me being quite manic with my day dreaming, laughing or smiling to myself for no reason while I am in my daydreams, sometimes talking in the different voices of the characters I am day dreaming about in public. Uncontrollably. This for me is severe. 

There was a popular post on here from a member who cured themselves of it. For me, i have started meditating and keeping a diary where I monitor everything I do. Being attentive to detail helps me to focus on what I am doing in real life.

[Silver Swan]

I used to day dream too frequently as a young person, but now I'm quitting. I did MD all my life, and it was naturally the way I was growing up, so I didn't see it as a bad thing and didn't think it would mess up my future. I was WRONG. It wasn't a normal thing at all and it did effect my future greatly. I didn't realize that I was the only one who suffered from this case. My family finally found out about this in my adulthood, mainly between 24 and early 30's. My mom freaked out so much and found me absolutely crazy. My sister couldn't believe it and started getting mean to me. My dad was more open than anybody else, but not so much. He did at times react bad when catching me wondering off, especially during conversations. However, he knew that I was a day dreamer since I was a baby, so he is not as shocked as my mom is. My mom still considers psychiatry.