Unsure - Please help

[Lucy Smither]

Hello

 

I am new to all this so please be gentle ! I am a 17 year old girl who has formed in depth fantasy worlds since around the age of 15.After some research I believe I may have a mild form of ‘maladaptive daydreaming’ disorder.Symptoms that I posses that have led to this self diagnosis include ;

• Listening to music while daydreaming.
• Having very vivid fantasies.
• Becoming emotionally attached to the characters created within my daydreams.
• Expressing the emotions I am feeling in my daydream,and may cry, laugh, smile or make facial expressions according to what is happening in my fantasy.

All of the above apply to me and yet I believe I have MD in a mild way.Yes my fantasies are very vivid but I am a creative person with a fantastic imagination.Shouldn’t I see this in a positive and not a negative light ? I also am very aware of the fact that my fantasy is indeed a fantasy and NOT reality.In addition unlike many other MD’ers my supposed MD does not really interfere with my actual life.I am a fairly social person who enjoys going out with friends.I am admittedly not the most confident person nor extremely popular but more somewhere in the middle.Like almost every other teenage girl I am conscious of my body image and can sometimes feel insecure.However overall I am happy with the way I look.I have too heard from other MD sufferers that they often find it difficult to go to sleep as they are kept up by their daydreaming.If anything my daydreaming sends me to sleep,something I enjoying do whilst lying in bed before I drift off.  

I have of cause asked myself what triggered this in depth daydreaming and I can think of a few possible things.These once more affirm my belief that I have a mild form of MD,if at all as they are all relating to my current life / current circumstances and so leads me to believe its something I may grow out of ;

• Firstly my first fantasy and the basis of all my other fantasy’s involve me as the main character and focuses on my relationship with a significant other.This ‘significant other’ has ranged from my GCSE english teacher who I had a school girl crush on at the time (embarrassing but true!) to famous actors.I haven’t however in real life had a boyfriend.I wonder therefor if my fantasy world is trying to make up for that in some sort of way ?? Will this daydreaming stop when I get the real thing ?? Maybe it’s just a hormonal teenage girl thing that will pass ??
• In my current fantasy one of the main characters has cancer.This sadly reflects my real life as my Granddad was diagnosed with liver cancer in January.My Granddad and I are very close and I wonder if creating this character in my head,of which I control (therefore can ensure get’s better) is a way of dealing with my Granddad’s cancer diagnosis.
• I didn’t achieve the GCSE results I wanted after aiming ridiculously high.I became very self critical and convinced myself my parent’s weren’t proud of me like other parent’s were of their children.In my fantasy however I excel at everything I turn my hand to and people become in awe of me.I again wonder if this is linked and my fantasy try’s to make up for this / counter balance it ?

To be honest I am just really confused and would love to hear someone’s opinion on what I have said.I have never told anyone about my fantasy’s before so this a big step for me.I am really interested as to wether you think I just have a well developed sense of imagination that I will grow out off or actual MD ? I am also interested to know weather its ok for me to continue these daydreams,I mean they are not harmful or taking over my life as they do for other MD sufferers ?

 

Many thanks.

[jungle forrest]

Yes, sounds like you have MD.

With the exception of age, I feel I could have written this post. I am also new to this site.

Most of your questions you will need to decide yourself, I am also still trying to form my opinions of this.

But, If it is not interfearing in your life and you are still social, it is not too bad IMO.