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Maladaptive Daydreaming: where wild minds come to rest

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I've been checking out this site for a while now....deciding. I guess it's time to step out of the shadows (a little). I can trace this thing back to when I was about 11 years old. Sometimes I have taken on the personality traits of some of my characters in my real life, literally experiencing their emotional reactions to whatever I'm imaging at the time. Shit, this is scary.

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Permalink Reply by Jane on February 8, 2014 at 3:15am

I've only just plucked up the courage to startr posting now too. It is scary to finally share something soooo deeply personal, and for me embarrassing.

I don't know if this sounds familiar to you, but I sometimes makes decisions based on what I think my fantasy self would do, or choices basedon a surrent DD. This has not been at all helpful to my life! lol

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Permalink Reply by Karen on February 11, 2014 at 9:23am

Hi Jane,

I agree about it being embarrassing and deeply personal. It is also sad when I think about all that I have lost while engrossed in my fantasy world. Yes, what you've done sounds familiar. I don't have a fantasy "self" per se, but all of my characters are part of me and vice versa. In my case, I've made decisions while "in character". A few times, I've even allowed myself to believe that I had a particular ability that one of them has, which did not go well.

In the past, I've actually spent a lot of time "in character". It's like a drug, I think. It seems to ease the pain of the "real world" and the disappointment in -- and emptiness of -- the "real me". I have not indulged in my fantasy life at all for about 9 months now. It's been interesting.