Losing Friends

[Colette]

         I feel like i'm losing some of my friends because I almost always want to be locked up in my room with no distractions so I can daydream. And get me right, I want to have friends I feel kinda selfish for it but whenever I can be alone I usually want to. My other fantasy life is very important to me and I want to change it. I don't remember when I started making up another life in my head but I have an idea that it was when I was going through one of the toughest things I been through and I didn't have any friends then. I didn't do it on purpose, it just happened and I've  just now realized it kind of a problem sometimes. I'll act out things or talk to myself and people will catch me and then I have to make up excuses for it. I've gotten better at controlling it in public though. My friends ask me to go out with them and I do sometimes but I usually come up with excuses for sleepovers because the idea of having a day without having time to daydream alone isn't that great to me.

[Pathfinder]

I used to do that too when I was a teen, except that I didn't even have friends to go out with! The lack of intelligent company made matters waaaay worse! You're lucky to have them, make sure you spend time with them as well as taking the incredibly good advices here! (I wish I had people like this years back...maybe when I have my time machine. :))

[Kade Scoular]

I believe Maladaptive Daydreaming is the mind's way of protecting itself from stressful event's in our lives and not some disease that we are born with and have to learn to accept. Whilst the brain is very versatile in the way it can cope under immense hardship, there is also a breaking point and I think this disorder is a manifestation of that. Disconnection from reality via excessive daydreaming isn't a recent occurrence by any means, it has been around since the dawn of humanity because it is a defense mechanism that protect's you from further trauma. 

But what you need to understand is that locking yourself away from the world and constantly indulging in these fantasies is only making your situation worse, and you risk losing your most effective support system available to you... your friends.

To get over this disorder you have to start engaging and interacting with reality more so your brain naturally becomes used to the outside world and receives stimulation from it, as opposed to receiving it from daydreaming. This is what I have started doing and I am already seeing noticeable improvement's in my work and social life to the point where my need to daydream is becoming less and less, simply because my mind is finding enjoyment in reality. 

It is hard I won't lie, but what you'll gain at the end of it makes it a worthwhile endeavor, good luck!

[Roel]

Yeah it can be hard :( Friends aren't the only things you lose because of excesive dreaming. Stay strong and don't be afraid to see your friends. btw some of your good friends might even accept your MD, don't worry too much