I suppose I should introduce myself.

[Amber]

My name is Amber, I am 27 years old and I am very very happy to have found this place.

I started day dreaming as a form of escapism when I was very young. I created a world for myself that was safe, kind and nurturing and I created friends for myself that were as real to me as the chair I am sitting on. Don't get me wrong i always knew they were imaginary, I'm not schizophrenic but i needed them. Trauma can take its toll on the mind of a child and they made it easy for me to get through the toughest times of my life.

However i did spent most of my life feeling like i was insane. Hell I had never heard of any of my friends having imaginary friends, I never saw them space out for hours at a time and i thought for the longest time that what I do should have ended as a child and because it didn't I am somehow insane.... not the case.

Yes I have imaginary friends, yes I still create worlds for myself that are safe and kind and yes I sometimes prefer to spend hours with them when i could be out at the bar with my friends but you know what I am fine with that.

i don't feel that i suffer from anything. I am a writer and if it wasn't for my condition i wouldn't be able to immerse myself in my stories the way i do and for that I will be eternally grateful.
I love my friends even if they are made up. Lets face it they have been with me through everything and they know me better than anyone else in the world ever could and I love who I am.

i don't know if anyone else actually enjoys this the way that I do but I wanted to share that. I'm not looking for any more diagnosis or treatments, I don't want it to stop. I have found a way to utilize it and make it into something great :)

Its a pleasure to meet you all and I hope that i didn't ramble too much but that's my story.

So I have a question for all of you...

Does anyone else enjoy this? Do any of you think of it as a gift?

XOXO
Amber

[Ocean Breeze]

Hello, Amber.  Welcome!  I also have mixed feelings about my MD.  My imaginary world is a wonderful place to be, and without it, my lonliness would be unbearable.  I'm hoping that as I reach out more to people in the real world, I'll make real friends, and I won't need the imaginary ones as much.  The problem is, I can't turn the imaginary world off, so I have to ignore it while talking to real people, which isn't easy.

[Roobles]

Hi amber, welcome, thanks for your story i enjoyed reading it.
I think that i have mixed feelings about whether dd is maladaptive .
 Like you i enjoy it but then it does depress me as i wish so much it was real and i can share it.
Also i indulge in the fact that as i get older i will Always have my 'friends' but im scared that as i get older i will regret that i did not live to my fullest when i was young. For example I dont have friends as i dont need them but i'm fine now with this but will i regret it when im older and i look back on life.

If you can balance life, going out, being with friends, and only use dd as either coping mechanism or a way of defeating boredom then i think its fine. If its your life day in day out and if nor coping in real life its maladaptive

[Crissy]

I've always enjoyed it I just wish I could control it & do it less often. I have kids & I want to be more present. I would also like to actually have some of the adventures I DD about. I want real memories as well as my imagined ones.

[greyartist]

sorry, but I don't. It has negatively effected my life and I have not found a way that it is useful to me.

[Alvy]

Hi, thanks for sharing your story with us. I feel at times that i enjoy it so much that i can't stop but then at times i feel i wish i didn't need it so much.

I'm the same as you. I learned to use it for my writing and it helps me control it better. so i think of it as a gift and a curse. however that is just my opinion.

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Many people see it as a gift and don't want to get rid of it.  I think it can be very healthy and enriching if we can keep it under control and harness it.  Just be careful to keep it under control.  Be aware that if it gets out of control, it can negatively affect your life.  Like anything, too much is not a good thing, but a little can be healthy.