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Maladaptive Daydreaming: where wild minds come to rest
If MD Was Accepted Would You Be Ashamed/Proud Of It?
I have been feeling really low this week so my MD has increased. Which is how I got caught yesterday. I was sitting in the livingroom with my brother having a moment when he said, "Stop talking to yourself." I felt quite ashamed at being caught and upset that I had driffted off so effortlessly into dreamworld, without noticing. So I got up and began tidying the house. He called me back when I had finished and asked me what the problem was. So I told him about MD, how it was a problem for me. That the neighbours had caught me and had spread the rumor that I am" mad." How people were avoiding me because of it and how it had taken over all of my life.
My brother told me that he MDed all the time even at work, when driving and when people commented on it. He would quite proudly tell them that he was talking to himself. He then told me not to be ashamed of it as there was nothing wrong with it.
So am I looking at this the wrong way? Should I just go with the flow and will accepting it free me in a way.
My brother is very succssfull, he has many friends and he is fearless. I am the exact opposite. So my questions are
-Am I looking at MD in the incorrect way. Which is that it is a condition which needs to be controlled and stopped pernamently?
-If MD was widely acceptable, would any of us see it as a problem? It's not like schizprenia, we know what we are dreaming about isn't real.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cordellia Amethyste Rose on
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I see it as both a gift and a curse. It's neither good nor bad. When I agreed to be the "poster child" for this condition, I stopped hiding it from anyone. I'm not a very social person, so I don't know many people, but I told everyone I met, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. My docs were skeptical at best, but because I wasn't seeing them for that, I didn't care. People at school were amazed and could all relate. My professors thought many writers must have had it. I wouldn't be ashamed of it.
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Permalink Reply by Lisa p on
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I've been caught and I look at the people and joke...oops u caught me..yup I'm crazy haha. Usually people say "I talk to myself as well" and smile. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense:-). I don't tell them about the MD but I try to lighten the situation a bit. Humor is my defense mechanism in life. I've been debating whether to tell a family member about the MD but I'm not sure yet....bravo to you...that's a big deal in my opinion.
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How interesting. You've given me a bit of courage....I've always thought I'm a writer but still have yet to put pen to paper. ..
Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:I see it as both a gift and a curse. It's neither good nor bad. When I agreed to be the "poster child" for this condition, I stopped hiding it from anyone. I'm not a very social person, so I don't know many people, but I told everyone I met, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. My docs were skeptical at best, but because I wasn't seeing them for that, I didn't care. People at school were amazed and could all relate. My professors thought many writers must have had it. I wouldn't be ashamed of it.
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I wrote about it more than once for school projects, and when the Scientific American Mind article came out, I showed my literature professor. She was amazed and very supportive. If you do write anything, I hope you'll share it here. People tend to enjoy that sort of thing. :)
Lisa p said:How interesting. You've given me a bit of courage....I've always thought I'm a writer but still have yet to put pen to paper. ..
Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:I see it as both a gift and a curse. It's neither good nor bad. When I agreed to be the "poster child" for this condition, I stopped hiding it from anyone. I'm not a very social person, so I don't know many people, but I told everyone I met, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. My docs were skeptical at best, but because I wasn't seeing them for that, I didn't care. People at school were amazed and could all relate. My professors thought many writers must have had it. I wouldn't be ashamed of it.
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Permalink Reply by roxanne on
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And yes, I would be proud of it. I find it very creative and interesting. Most people have quirks. I've yet to hear of any as interesting as ours. I'm surprised that everyone isn't studying us and wanting to learn more about it.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa C. Water on
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Its a wonderful distraction and it sort of morphs the mind. Fact is that it makes you more creative and empathetic. Someone with MDDing can imagine themselves in other peoples positions and better help them because in our minds its like we were there.
It makes us better writers and better people.
Sad thing is if it interferes with your life or takes it over.
Its a balance I guess
But its true that many things are a matter of perspective.
If it makes you happy...embrace the madness!
My username is very often Idranktheseawater. If you drink the sea water you can get paranoid and hallucinate. I dont do that, but the things I do or live made me feel crazy...or "mad" and I embraced that and felt it made me unique...and unique is a wonderful thing ;)
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I've come to the point where I really don't care. As well as pulling facial expressions and talking to myself whilst daydreaming I also hear voices/ see things that aren't there and I've come to a point where I'm happy to just talk out loud to my voices when walking down the street or out and about. I sometimes hold my phone to my ear and pretend to be on the phone if it's crowded.
I don't really feel ashamed of any of my mental health difficulties. Sometimes I do if I'm feeling bad about myself in general but for the most part I just see it as a part of myself which, like many other parts of myself, can sometimes feel like a burden and other times feel like a gift. It is what it is. No matter what you've got whether its MD, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar, DID, BPD, hearing voices (like myself) or any other "disorder" there's no reason to be ashamed of it.
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Thank you for replying. I've always been ashamed of it because it makes me feel like I'm crazy but when my brother told me that he is proud of his MD and doesn't hide it, it made me look at things differently. Maybe if I just accepted it things would be easier for me.
M Hunter said:I've come to the point where I really don't care. As well as pulling facial expressions and talking to myself whilst daydreaming I also hear voices/ see things that aren't there and I've come to a point where I'm happy to just talk out loud to my voices when walking down the street or out and about. I sometimes hold my phone to my ear and pretend to be on the phone if it's crowded.
I don't really feel ashamed of any of my mental health difficulties. Sometimes I do if I'm feeling bad about myself in general but for the most part I just see it as a part of myself which, like many other parts of myself, can sometimes feel like a burden and other times feel like a gift. It is what it is. No matter what you've got whether its MD, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar, DID, BPD, hearing voices (like myself) or any other "disorder" there's no reason to be ashamed of it.
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Thank you for replying. It is true that both me and my brother are very empathic to the things others around us are going through. I just worry that one day it will just take over completly and I won't beable to go back. Which seems to be the stage it is heading now.
Melissa C. Water said:Its a wonderful distraction and it sort of morphs the mind. Fact is that it makes you more creative and empathetic. Someone with MDDing can imagine themselves in other peoples positions and better help them because in our minds its like we were there.
It makes us better writers and better people.
Sad thing is if it interferes with your life or takes it over.
Its a balance I guess
But its true that many things are a matter of perspective.
If it makes you happy...embrace the madness!
My username is very often Idranktheseawater. If you drink the sea water you can get paranoid and hallucinate. I dont do that, but the things I do or live made me feel crazy...or "mad" and I embraced that and felt it made me unique...and unique is a wonderful thing ;)
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I think one can't begin to heal from anything without first accepting oneself and stopping judging oneself. I'm nowhere near mentally healthy, but the instant I stopped judging myself and started accepting myself, a huge weight lifted. It's an important start.
Tinkerbell said:Thank you for replying. I've always been ashamed of it because it makes me feel like I'm crazy but when my brother told me that he is proud of his MD and doesn't hide it, it made me look at things differently. Maybe if I just accepted it things would be easier for me.
M Hunter said:I've come to the point where I really don't care. As well as pulling facial expressions and talking to myself whilst daydreaming I also hear voices/ see things that aren't there and I've come to a point where I'm happy to just talk out loud to my voices when walking down the street or out and about. I sometimes hold my phone to my ear and pretend to be on the phone if it's crowded.
I don't really feel ashamed of any of my mental health difficulties. Sometimes I do if I'm feeling bad about myself in general but for the most part I just see it as a part of myself which, like many other parts of myself, can sometimes feel like a burden and other times feel like a gift. It is what it is. No matter what you've got whether its MD, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar, DID, BPD, hearing voices (like myself) or any other "disorder" there's no reason to be ashamed of it.
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Thank you for commenting. The other day I was looking on Wikipedia and it has been posted on there and I know that a while ago it wasn't even meantioned, so i think that in time people will be talking about it and looking into how to treat it and such.
roxanne said:And yes, I would be proud of it. I find it very creative and interesting. Most people have quirks. I've yet to hear of any as interesting as ours. I'm surprised that everyone isn't studying us and wanting to learn more about it.
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