A review on possible ways to fight MD

[chris trifi]

(personal experience mostly)
1) Alcohol
•pros
-Helps you express feelings you normally suppress and end up fueling your daydreams
-Helps you connect deeper with people. Real life is easier to accept when you have some close friends. Most MDers are completely unable to form connections and as a result leaving the dreamworld seems even more difficult
-Your mind becomes less clear and as a result it's easier to focus on real feelings than thoughts
•cons
-all the health effects/addiction
-drinking alone can lead to extreme daydreaming as alcohol fuels your ego while your will to stop the daydreams weakens
-hangovers can lead to unstoppable daydreaming
•conclusion: Not the best idea to drink regularly but drinking in a social environment once a while can help you a lot with unexpressed feelings
2)Cannabis
•Pros
-can completely erase your sort term memory for a while and as a result you can become unable to daydream
-can increase the real life emotions you feel
•Cons
-although it's not physically addictive, it can become pretty addictive emotionally if you have an addictive personality
-after coming down from the "high" you experience lack of motivation. If you are dedicated to fight MD weed may drain you from the will to do so.
-after coming down from the "high" you may also feel bored and as a result seek for pleasure in MD
•Conclusion: Better stay away. However some people are affected much less by the negatives of weed so it's a personal choice and depends in more factors. Smoking in nature for example seems to increase mindfulness and completely stop daydreaming for a while. Still not recommended to anyone who thinks he is already lazy/psychotic/unmotivated.
3)Psychedelics( LSD, mushrooms,ayahuasca etc/ not so much personal experience)
•Pros
-Recent studies with a limited amount of participants showed that they can cure depression for months with a single dose while also increasing satisfaction in life
-Other studies showed that they (especially psilocybin contained in magic mushrooms) can increase neuroplasticity which means the ability of the mind to change its behavior patterns. They are very promising on curing trauma and addiction for good. There are testimonies of people who totally stopped smoking after one dose of psilocybin. MD is an addiction that can also be cured.
•Cons
- MDers are used to very shallow emotions. The intensity of the "psychedelic trips" can lead to inability to deal with it an as a result have a very negative experience
-Intense feelings can produce even more intense daydreaming the days after as your mind will propably try to mimic what you felt during the psychedelic experience
-Illegal, hard to obtain, risky for those who have psychotic tendencies
•Conclusion: Extremely promising but quite risky. If you decide to go for them by yourself do a lot of research. Let's hope that they will be a legal treatment in the near future
4) Meditation
I don't think that meditation has anything inherently negative. Strongly recommended for MDers as it will both learn you how to silence your mind for a while and at the same time improve your general mental and physical health. Put a timer and start with 10 minutes each day. There are a lot of meditation techniques you can find online. It may be hard at the beginning but won't regret it I promise.
5)Less music/books
As a MDer you may like reading a lot of books and listening to music but if it acts like a trigger stop those habbits completely. Once you successfully deal with MD you can start again but you must be very careful.
6)Physical exercise
•Pros
-Produces endorphins which make you feel good an help you deal with depression. Real life seems less awful
- Having a better health means having less problems to escape from
-building a better body increases self-esteem and brings you closer to accepting your "real" self.
-the physical discomfort you feel while exercising helps you be more present
•Cons
-being physical tired weakens your willpower and as a result you become prone to daydreaming.
-It my fuel daydreams about your "super-fit future self
•Conclusion: of course totally recommended
7) Reading psychology articles
•Pros
-will result to deeper understanding of your emotional world
-you will learn ways to deal with many problems
•Cons
-You may start overanalyzing anything you read or get lost in daydreams of a version of you that does all the things that psychologists recommend.
•Conclusion: It can be helpful but take care not to overdo it.
8)Putting timers and counting how many times you engage daydreaming in certain periods of time. Then trying to reduce it.
•Totally works for me (found it here: http://m.wikihow.com/Deal-With-Maladaptive-Daydreaming )
9)Getting more in touch with nature
•Every time you have a chance try to spend time in nature. One of the most important advice I can give to anyone struggling with MD.
(Personally I first realized that I could actually cure MD when I went for camping for 5 days and it nearly disappeared. It came back a few days after I returned home but with less intensity)
10)Joining the "fightclub". You propably won't find that of the movie but I think that starting any martial art as a hobby is a good idea :p.

Feel free to add your own "cures" or personal experience on those already listed