I think I may have mild OCD

[Beef]

I read somewhere that MD can be linked to OCD and other things....I think i might have a mild form of OCD

For example, yesterday i wrote "I'm Bored" on a piece of paper and my friend drew a heart a started to colour it in, it was bugging the hell out of me, and I couldn't continue with my work until i finished colouring the heart in.

Another example- I was eating beans and chips yesterday and i was down to the last bean and i couldn't get it on my fork- something that wouldn't usually bother someone, but I kept trying to get it , it bugged the hell out of me.

[truthandbeauty]

I do think there is a relationship between MD and other "compulsive" disorders.  MD is a compulsive behavior/habit.  I've lived with MD since I was about 7 - and I'm now 45-ish.  Over the years, I've developed other 'habits' as well.  I like to keep my bathrooms very clean.  I obsess over little things in my home - like a small patch of tearing wallpaper.  In some way, I think MD brings order and control to our lives.  We want order and control.  And I believe we don't just leave that order and control to our daydreams.  So, it spills over to our real worlds - and we have order and control where we can --  YOU color in the heart; I clean my toilets.  Best wishes. 

[M Hunter]

I used to have a lot of compulsive habits as a kid. For example if I did a 360 turn clockwise I would then have to turn back 360 anti-clockwise otherwise I've twisted too much in one direction. In all honesty I still do this from time to time. Also everything had to be done an even number of times so lets say I bang my wrist on something I would then have to bang my wrist again BUT then it would only be done to one side of my body so I would have to do it twice on the other wrist. Thankfully I no longer do this otherwise I'd get nothing done in the day. 
I have a few compulsive habits but I wouldn't label myself with OCD. They don't control my life. They're just little, albeit slightly annoying, quirks.

[Beef]

i was actually also wondering if Maladaptive Daydreaming is a form of OCD, i was reading a yahoo answers post from someone who thinks so

"My theory is that MD is a form of OCD. With OCD, there are three forms that go with it. One: a Rule that you must not do something such as: do not touch a doorknob. Two: a Compulsion that must be done a certain Number of times such as: slam the door 5 times. Three: a Ritual that must be performed in a certain way, time, and/or place such as: hold your breath and stomp your right foot in your bedroom at 9:00 PM. The reason it is called Obsessive Compulsive disorder is because it has Obsessions: thoughts or emotions that drive the person to perform the Compulsions: the actions performed that make up the Rules and Rituals and Numbers. 
MD is a ritual. The Daydreams are obsessions because they are thoughts you cannot get out of your head that make you perform the Compulsion: pacing, swinging, or bouncing something in your hands, which usually accompany daydreaming. If you don't do this, then just going off in your head is still a compulsion. Also, people with MD usually have certain ways they must daydream. For instance, I have to listen to songs that I like on my own iPod, and can only do it in my bedroom. If I used my brother's iPod and did it in the living room, I would feel anxious and uncomfortable, and couldnt daydream efficiently."

[M Hunter]

I wouldn't say its a form of OCD. It's more like an addition same as if someone was addicted to alcohol. In my case I need to daydream in order to function. If I don't daydream I'll get irritable and then I'm compelled to indulge in it. Any pacing or action that accompanies my daydreams are just actions that simply help me get my mind going and somehow focuses me. All I really require for daydreaming is music. Certain music will help me imagine certain scenarios better but there's no certain way in which I daydream.
I would definitively class it as an addiction. I'm addicted to caffeine. Without it I feel slow and sluggish and often ill. I'll then get irritable and my mind won't focus until I finally open that can or pour that coffee and everything starts to settle down and I start to function again. Same with daydreaming. If I don't do it I can't function then when I get my fix everything starts is fine.
I can see why you might think that as I suppose OCD and addiction have very similar attributes but I don't believe this to be a type of OCD.

[truthandbeauty]

I don't think the ritual behavior is necessary either.  When I was a kid, I'd shut myself in a room and pace.  Sometimes even now, I may catch myself pacing.  But I'm also so proficient that I can do it anywhere with ease.  As M.Hunter said, the accompanying behaviors to the DD really just get people focussed.  I do believe that our particular DDs put us in full control of everything - the beginning and end - and for that we feel comforted.  In my personal situation, my real world is so out of control, that I enjoy beginning where I want to and ending where I want to.

 

Is MD an addiction?  I don't think so.  It's  a habit.  It can be stopped.  As I expressed in other replies, there was a distinct time in my life when everything was going so well for me that I didn't go into any DD.  As a matter of fact, I couldn't make myself go into one even when I tried.  As my world turned bad again, it became easier to DD once more.  New stories, new worlds and new me.    

[M Hunter]

In my personal experience I feel its more an addiction as even when things are going well for me I still find myself lost in a daydream but everyone's experience  is different I suppose. I just don't feel alive if I don't daydream plus , as I have mentioned in other posts, if i'm having a psychotic episode or even if i'm not and the voices are really strong daydreaming is a way of escaping that hell even though in many ways that can make things worse.  When things are pretty close to great in my life I still find it hard to function. Whether this is because I hear voices and its very hard for me to integrate with the world or some other reason I don't know but daydreaming is a requirement for me at this point it seems. 

[truthandbeauty]

I completely agree with this assessment.  In my personal experience, I never heard voices or anything like that.  Basically, I was a lonely kid with parents who ignored me.   I never just slipped into a DD but had to put myself there.  It has always been comforting. 

 

And while MD has lead to much procrastination in my real life, it hasn't obstructed the most essential elements of my life.  My kids are well cared for and a first priority (and NOT neglected or ignored!)  Ihold a job, albeit not one that I love.  And the days start and end without too much fuss.  I am emotionally attached to my children and that's about it.  My other feelings are felt deep within my DD.  And that's my problem.

 

Sometimes I think that when I eventually face the final 5 to 10 minutes of life, I'll focus on characters in my DDs -- but maybe not, I love my children immeasurably.   To me, it feels like I have a foot in both realms.  To me, that's what MD is --  not bipolar or other personality disorder; no racing thoughts - but a very well considered  and planned other realm of existence.

 

I have stopped it.  I didn't make a conscious decision to stop.  It stopped on its own and I couldn't go back even when I tried.  Maybe I'm the exception, maybe not.  I don't know.  Best wishes to all.

EludeMyFantasies said:

Hmmm, I think it can be both. Habitual is to do something subconsciously, a learned behavior from repetition over time. For example, smoking is an addiction but the habit can be harder to break than the addiction. This also lead to the difference between mental and physical addiction. Is a habit really just a mental addiction to something? The theory is that habits can turn into addictions. So habit and addiction are a slippery slope.

Personally I feel that if you've reached the point of seeking help and looking up information its gone from habit to addiction.