Want to participate in a new daydreaming study?

[Melina West]

Hello,

I am a researcher working with Professor Eli Somer.

We wish to shed light on non-distressful variant of elaborate and immersive daydreaming.

We aim to study how daydreaming is related to emotional understanding and creativity and also how do elaborate and immersive (but not distressful or  maladaptive) daydreamers differ from maladaptive daydreamers. Your participation could help to identify the potential benefits of immersive daydreaming and contribute to developing strategies for managing maladaptive daydreaming.

We are looking for participants to contribute to this research. The only requirements are that you are a fluent speaker of English and over 18 years of age. If you would like to help, we ask that you complete an online multiple choice survey which will take approximately 20 minutes. Your responses will be anonymous, and we do not ask for any detailed information about the content of your daydreams.

If possible, please share the survey with any family or friends who might also be eligible and willing to participate, regardless of their daydreaming habits.

The survey is available here:

https://uqpsych.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5vjTG9HwrxljEQl

If you have any questions, you may contact me ([e-mail]).

Thank you!

[Theaxe]

Thanks! You have received my contribution.

Many of the questions asked are quite similar to the ones asked in another survey that I had done for Dr. Somer in November, 2015. The new questions were about the subject's creativity.

If you have the ability to influence a new survey for Dr. Somer, I for one would like to see him zero in on those of us who have never experienced trauma or abuse of any kind and why we might be using MD as a way to soothe. Not all of us have troubled pasts or have any coinciding mental issues.  Sometimes I feel as though there is a lot of focus on people who have been traumatized and/or have a mental illness, and very little (if not none) focusing on those of us who have not experienced those issues.

[Melina West]

Thank you for your interest and help with the study!

Are you familiar with Professor Somer's 2016 paper titled "Childhood antecedents and maintaining factors in Maladaptive Daydreaming"? While it does include some discussion of childhood trauma, it notes that this is a contributing factor for only a portion of individuals with MD, and discusses other pathways and factors contributing to the development of MD.

Although, undoubtedly, much more research is needed.

Theaxe said:

Thanks! You have received my contribution.

Many of the questions asked are quite similar to the ones asked in another survey that I had done for Dr. Somer in November, 2015. The new questions were about the subject's creativity.

If you have the ability to influence a new survey for Dr. Somer, I for one would like to see him zero in on those of us who have never experienced trauma or abuse of any kind and why we might be using MD as a way to soothe. Not all of us have troubled pasts or have any coinciding mental issues.  Sometimes I feel as though there is a lot of focus on people who have been traumatized and/or have a mental illness, and very little (if not none) focusing on those of us who have not experienced those issues.