imagine an opposite world

[havoc]

i'm aware that there is still much more to find out about how many people there are out there in the world who have maladaptive daydreaming, but for now i'm going to assume that the ratio of non-daydreamers to daydreamers is very different (as in theres wayyy more people who don't have maladaptive daydreaming)

anyway, my thought was this, what if it was the other way round? if it was 'socially acceptable' and 'normal' all over the world, to have these daydreams? and because people were so used to it and relaxed about it, that they could actually act out their daydreams with other people and involve them in their daydream too, like social-interacting daydreaming or whatever you'd call it. and the people who didn't daydream were the ones who hid away and were 'weird' and nobody could understand them.

then i realized that it would be quite scary, as some people might go to great lengths to get their daydream perfect and satisfactory (like actually killing something/someone if they imagined themselves killing it in their daydream) ah anyway, don't know why i suddenly thought this, its a bit far-fetched i guess but i thought i'd share it, apologies if someone has already said this.

[havoc]

@Lily i like the idea of that, that people would just be like 'oh, that person has md, cool' its funny to imagine :)

@Libby i'd love to know if i'd met or if i know anyone personally who has it. but i agree that we probably would've been able to spot it, as daydreamers ourselves. i doubt it is genetic or anything, but it would be fascinating to know.

also about the historical figures who possibly had md, or anyone in past centuries who had it, i wonder if they would've ever imagined or hoped that there would one day be a name for it, and that all of us on here have sort of found each other and been able to talk about it.  from my view, everything seemed so strict in the 'olden days' that i dont think anyone with md would've ever spoken about it to anyone

[Libby]

@LilySierra
I was reading this in one of the few papers written about MD:

Excessive fantasizing may have been described as early as 1893, when Breuer reported the case study of Anna O. which he published jointly with Freud in ‘‘Studies in Hysteria’’. Breuer termed Anna O. a ‘‘systematic daydreamer’’ as she reported livving in her ‘‘private theatre’’ where she would daydream for hours. Breuer reported:
While everyone thought she was attending, she was living through fairly tales in her imagination; but she was always on the spot when she was spoken to so that no one was aware of it. She pursued the activity almost continuously while she was engaged on her household duties, which she discharged unexceptionally. (Breuer & Freud, 1893, p. 22)



I thought it was fascinating. This was even before the media triggers!! That's when I started thinking about historical figures. Back then , they would have surely thought they were crazy and even further back they might have thought they were possessed or something.

[Libby]

I wonder about the ratio all of the time. I also wonder if I know someone in real life who has MD. I think I would know if someone I was close to had it only because I would know what to look for, but what about acquaintances. Is the ratio so high that most people, unnowingly, meet someone affected by MD in their lifetime? Or meet many people? I worry that my kids will have it. I wish there was more to know about it. I also wonder if there are any famous faces with MD. It seems rational to think that MD would fit with the talents of any kind of performer. But what about historical figures. I would love to know the most accomplished person with MD. I think it would be inspiring. The point is I think about MD and society often.