What causes MD?

[Laura Rose]

Hi I joined this site mostly to find out why I'm like this and can't stop. I really just want to know whether I was born with this or if this is something that happened to me caused by something in my early childhood. I've had uncontrollable daydreams since I can remember. I think I started it when I was swinging on my play house as a kid. That was when I was like 3 or 4 which makes me think it was something I was born with. But I'd like to also hear other peoples earliest memories on this also. :)

[Elizabeth]

I meant in general could be born with it, not necessarily you.

Elizabeth said:

I think you could be born with it. I have done it all my life for as far as I can remember. My parents did reach a rough spot in their marriage and some things happened but I was DDing before that. My mom said when I was a baby I would shake my hands a little more than most when I got excited or was watching something. So.. I dunno.

[Michelle]

Its not something you're born with. It sounds like a coping mechanism. We do what works. If, at some point in your life, daydreaming became better than reality you would have gotten used to having lots of theta waves instead of beta waves (or the other way around, i have no idea which is which and i'm too lazy today to look it up). Its obviously a learnt behaviour. Maybe its in the same sort 'family' as ocd, anxiety etc, as in a behaviour used to cope with something that spirals into a disorder. But that's just my opinion.

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

It's not just a coping mechanism.  I remember daydreaming as early as I remember living.  My grandmother said I seemed distant and depressed even as an infant.  I think some people are born this way naturally.  It's just how my brain functions.  Any abuse just pushed me in further.  

[Elizabeth]

I agree. Now my dad paces sometimes when hes thinking about something, but once he gets an answer he stops. He used to daydream a lot as a kid but grew out of it. And up until some things got a little rocky at my house, I had a perfectly happy normal childhood and I DDed. So yeah I think some of our brains are just hardwired a little this way and it might become a coping mechanism as we get older.

Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:

It's not just a coping mechanism.  I remember daydreaming as early as I remember living.  My grandmother said I seemed distant and depressed even as an infant.  I think some people are born this way naturally.  It's just how my brain functions.  Any abuse just pushed me in further.  

[Michelle]

Its called 'MALADAPTIVE' daydreaming. As in, it somethings we've adapted as a behaviour, but its a negative behaviour. If you don't believe its a coping mech, or if you believe its something we're born with (??) you may want to contact the people who did the research and named it and tell them how much more you know about this disorder than they do. Saying 'I was born with it' is like saying you can't control it or you're not responsible for it. Its a cop-out. MD is a cop-out in itself, we don't need anymore cop-outs if we're intending to be in charge of our lives.

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Actually, "maladaptive" means that it has a negative impact on our lives.  Dr. Eli Somer coined the term.  He thought it was the result of abuse, but he had only 6 study participants.  The most recent study has been conducted by Dr. Cynthia Schupak.  She had 90 study participants and found that they showed no more instances of abuse than your average group of people.  She found that many people who had happy childhoods and no abuse had this condition as well.  If you want to ask the doctors, ask her.  She knows.  I know how my brain works.  I trust her, a real doctor with a real PHD, and I trust myself.  It's not always a coping mechanism.  Not everyone has had something negative to cope with who has it.  

[Rashomon Effect]

One of the biggest problems with psychiatrist and the mental health profession is that they want to put everyone into categories and treat them all in the same manner.

Each individual is unique; their circumstances are unique to them. There are variations of severity in depression and there are, I'm sure, variations in the severity of what is labeled as MD.

Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:

Actually, "maladaptive" means that it has a negative impact on our lives.  Dr. Eli Somer coined the term.  He thought it was the result of abuse, but he had only 6 study participants.  The most recent study has been conducted by Dr. Cynthia Schupak.  She had 90 study participants and found that they showed no more instances of abuse than your average group of people.  She found that many people who had happy childhoods and no abuse had this condition as well.  If you want to ask the doctors, ask her.  She knows.  I know how my brain works.  I trust her, a real doctor with a real PHD, and I trust myself.  It's not always a coping mechanism.  Not everyone has had something negative to cope with who has it.  

[Elizabeth]

Exactly. Its like walking up to someone with Autism and saying "hey, stop being autistic." Now MD is different, and not Autism but you get the general idea. And it is different for different people. 

Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:

Actually, "maladaptive" means that it has a negative impact on our lives.  Dr. Eli Somer coined the term.  He thought it was the result of abuse, but he had only 6 study participants.  The most recent study has been conducted by Dr. Cynthia Schupak.  She had 90 study participants and found that they showed no more instances of abuse than your average group of people.  She found that many people who had happy childhoods and no abuse had this condition as well.  If you want to ask the doctors, ask her.  She knows.  I know how my brain works.  I trust her, a real doctor with a real PHD, and I trust myself.  It's not always a coping mechanism.  Not everyone has had something negative to cope with who has it.