Obsessively daydreaming?

[Grace]

I don't know if this is really considered Maladaptive daydreaming, but I have to daydream 3-4 times a day. I have to daydream in the morning, in the middle of the day, and at night. I'll listen to music, and these daydreams can last a long time. I feel overwhelmed while daydreaming as well. If I don't daydream, I feel horrible. It's like a pattern I must follow.

Does anyone else do this? Is this MDD or something else? Any answers are greatly appreciated!

[Alex]

Obviously I'm not a mental health professional, but the first thing that comes to mind is if there are any other behaviors in your life that you "have" to do like this?

Daydreaming likely enters the realm of MDD when it is difficult to control, excessive, and has some negative effect on important areas of your life like your career, education, social life, love life, etc. What you wrote sounds like MDD to me, but with an obsessive-compulsive twist to it, hence why I'm interested if there are any other things you feel similarly with. If there is, dealing with that anxiety would likely provide some relief.

[Grace]

It is an anxiety reliever. I've tried to stop though, but I've always just slipped back into daydreaming.

[Aj]

That definitely sounds like MDD, though you might be someone who'd get diagnosed with OCD as well (like me). As with OCD, I think the obsessive-compulsive part of MDD is really just your brain wanting to escape anxiety/uncertainty/pain, and so the only real way to gain control of it is to gradually learn how to sit with and experience that pain instead of trying to escape it. Obviously that's extremely difficult, and it's probably something we'll always have to work on, but it's helped me gain some control of MDD. I recommend looking into ACT therapy if you want to learn more about accepting pain instead of escaping it. As with any therapy it isn't perfect, but it's helped me a little. 

[Grace]

At least I'm not the only one :)

[BlackUnicorn]

I'd say this is MD cause of the intensity you describe. But for some MD seems to be a condition itself, for some it is a symptom of other mental issues.

I have such a pattern too. I get up 30 mins earlier just to spend it on daydreaming, if I'm home, I spend another 30 - 60 mins aftrer lunch and again 30-60 mins before I fall asleep. 

For me it's not an urge to follow the pattern. I think I created this pattern just cause I wanted to make sure I get my "quality time" everyday. Well that doesn't mean I can control it the rest of the day :)

So, maybe the origin could be something different, depending on whether you urge to follow a pattern or urge for having time to dream away.

[Aquarius]

So true it is an anxiety reliever. Sometimes I replay the same MDD to help me fall asleep. Right now I'm anxious over a paper that I have to start and the deadline is so near so my mind's been fleeing alot.

One important thing I have been able to recognize is that MDDing for me means that I am unable to process my feelings. I figured this out after I read on pysch site that people who have tics ( like saying certain words out of the blue [I do that] or any other physical kind) are struggling with processing their feelings. It was an Aha moment for me.

Writing processes my feelings. Any kind of writing, including this response.

Grace said:

It is an anxiety reliever. I've tried to stop though, but I've always just slipped back into daydreaming.