FIRST POST!! :)

[Ella]

So this is my first ever blog post - like ever...

So, obviously, i am a maladaptive daydreamer, but up until a while ago, i didnt even know what that meant. At the very beginning , i didnt even know that i was different. I daydream a lot, i always have, and i would hear people apologise and say they were daydreaming when they weren't paying attention - i didnt know that their daydreaming was different from mine. I started to realise i was different when i couldnt get through simple actions without daydreaming - finally i annoyed myself that much that i googled it, and turns out, i was different.

I dont like it. I want to get rid of it, but at the same time i dont know what i would do with my time - because it does take up SO MUCH TIME. I daydream when: i'm listening to songs, watching a film, doing work and even when i'm trying to sleep! I want to stop, yet if someone interrupts me whilst i'm daydreaming i get annoyed, i want to carry on, i enjoy it.

Is that bad? Is it going to get worse?

PLEASE let me know - I've loved hearing other peoples experiences/advice :)

[Source]

@darmody And I don't think spending time imagining things as a toddler disrupted your daily life. It doesn't matter if you didn't have anything to compensate for when you were three years old, what matters is whether you have it now. The exact reason why you do it can change over time (and it probably has already), but as long as there is any it'll keep happening, regardless of where or when.

[darmody]

@Source-Many people, myself included, have been doing it as far back as we can remember. I don't think there was anything in particular I had to compensate for when I was three years-old. 

[MatthewR]

Daydreaming is my way of coping with stress. It's also how I compensate for really bad feelings. I started daydreaming as a way of dealing with anxiety when I was very young, so it's a very difficult habit to break. I'd say a good part of my life has been spent living a fantasy, and that's disappointing. Also, speaking candidly, I feel some things in my life are just plain hopeless and that without a daily escape into fantasy, I don't think I could manage. This is what fuels the manic daydreaming phases I sometimes go through. I feel like this is the only outlet I have to express myself. 

Good luck to you. I hope you find a way to improve your situation. You'll find lots of help in the forums. Take care and welcome to WM.

[Source]

Maladaptive daydreaming isn't something self-sufficient that just pops into existence out of the blue. Something in your real life caused the creation of an imaginary one in order to compensate for something that is somehow wrong. At least this is what usually happens. It's a bad thing if it further disrupts your life, and it will only get worse if whatever is behind it is not dealt with.