I just joined the site.  This is my first time joining any site like this.  I only recently discovered the concept of maladaptive daydreaming, although I have searched for some time for some kind of explanation for whatever it is that my mind does.  I have wondered off and on for a long time if there was something wrong with me mentally, but like they say "crazy people don't think they're crazy" and I have at times thought I was crazy.

 

I have been daydreaming, as this site describes, since I was probably 4.  That is the earliest that I can remember, but it could be earlier, if my mother is to be believed.  Of course, it began with infant-like characters, cartoon-like animals, etc.  As I have grown, the characters have grown and changed (eventually :)) into people.  I am now nearly 29 years old and I have what I've heard called a "paracosm."  I can't even count the number of characters now living in my head.  They vary in ages, races, cultures, locations, even "creature-type".  There are regular human beings, but also lots of other fantasy-like things picked up from books, movies, other media and some that I have just created on my own.  Each and every one has a distinct name, personality, history, motive, LIFE.  And I remember where each and every one came from, their history, some have descended from characters I created when I was 9 and 10 years old, so there is an entire family tree! 

 

If anyone reads this far, I'm curious to know if there is anyone else on the site that has a similarly detailed and layered paracosm like this.  I imagine there must be.  Let me hear from you.

 

This is a lot to say as an introduction, but I have never fully expressed all of these things to anyone and I just need to get it out there.  I need to reduce the amount of time I spend in this other world.  I almost see the world through these characters' eyes instead of my own and it is a strange feeling to have.  It is distracting, disruptive, and it is effecting how I interact with even the closest and most important REAL people in my life (mainly my spouse and child).

 

Thank you for reading and thank you for having me on the site.

 

 

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Comment by Ashley on September 16, 2013 at 1:40pm

My daydreams have always focused on wholly imaginary characters.  I have never been "included" in that world so to speak, nor would I want to be.  I've also never written down my daydreams, or the stories I've developed there.  I did see a therapist once, a few years ago and she told me to try writing them down.   But when I did, it just seemed wrong. 

 

The world in my head now is basically the same world it was when I first started daydreaming 20+ years ago.  It has just evolved as I have matured, learned, etc.  I've never actively researched anything to incorporate into my daydreams, though.  About the characters, I'm not sure what you mean by older versions of themselves.  I have one main character that has been around since my early teens from whom a lot of my current characters stem, but he character has never changed.  He has always been the same:  history, personality, appearance...everything.  I have "rewritten" some characters, too.  Could that be what you mean?  If so, then yes, this is similar.  :)

 

Have you ever tried to stop the daydream?  I have, and it feels almost like a betrayal even though I know none of it is real.  Am I alone in this particular feeling?

Comment by Ashley on September 13, 2013 at 11:56am

I actually just picked up the term recently while reading some other articles.  It is an extremely detailed and structured fantasy world, or at least that is the definition I found.  Your story sounds like it could be as complex, if not more complex, than mine.  Thank you for reading my post and thank you for responding!

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