Periods in your life when you didn't daydream - any patterns?

[Eretaia]

According to life stories posted on the internet by people who suffer from MD, some have reported that, at some point in our lives, MD would simply stop for an indefinite period of time - it could be weeks, months or years and the person wouldn't have the urge to daydream. It would usually happen when person is really engaged and content about their life. Sometimes, it would return, sometimes it wouldn't. Then there are those who have had MD that is always active and never ever really stopped.

Two years ago, I went to a summer camp with people who I enjoyed spending time with. Best of all, I forgot my mp3 and laptop at home, which are my main triggers. At first I was incredibly pissed off, but gradually I found myself enjoying spending time with these people and during those two weeks, I didn't daydream at all and I don't recall thinking much about my characters; in fact, I remember being bored - and I am almost never bored because I can always immerse myself in a daydream. However during that time, my mind wouldn't drift into a daydream. But when I got back home, life became boring again and so MD restarted. I'm trying to follow this logic to stop again, but the problem is that nothing external excites me anymore, so it's going to be a bit tricky. 

Anyways, here are my questions for you:

1. Did your MD ever stop for a certain period of time (e.g. weeks, months)?

2. If yes, did it simply stop by itself or was cessation triggered by an event in your life (e.g. pleasant event, change of lifestyle, engagement in social situations, something negative, changes in health/hormones etc.)?

3. When your MD returned, was it triggered by something (e.g. traumatic event, monotonous lifestyle, boredom, changes in health/hormones etc.)?

[greyartist]

Hasn't stopped. But the start was triggered by hormons-perimenopause April 2011.

[Eretaia]

Oh, I remember you told in in another thread that it was hormones; and then in your case MD doesn't seem to coping mechanism at all. Ever tried talking to a psychiatrist about it? It's really odd.

[Futur5]

Past few weeks,I stopped Dreaming about 2 or 3 week...I just spending more time in real life and honestly that moment i felt very peace without suffering the maladaptive dream headache  :l

[Eretaia]

That's more or less how I feel. Though I'm trying to understand if MD was really developed in order to help us cope with something, even loneliness, or if we have always been simply prone to such way of thinking/behaving when unengaged and bored. When I was a kid, MD came pretty suddenly but I remember always being overly engaged in books and cartoons and prone to occasional fantasies, but I guess all kids do this. After the age of 12, it became full-blown but there wasn't anything specific and stressful that I needed to cope with and that triggered it. It simply happened.

Anette Lesley said:

1. When I was in college, I don't remember daydreaming at all, aside from few absent minded moments when i'm traveling from one point to another (school-work-home), also when I had a kinda stressful job. I liked it but the atmosphere was wild, always rushing...I simply didn't have a free moment to daydream, plus I was trying hard to stay in present so i wouldn't screw up something. When I'd get home I would be so tired, i would just drop on bed and fall asleep exausted most of the time. I would DD but maybe for 15 minutes per day if even that. I consider that pretty normal and something everyone does.

2. Basically, when my life was fulfilled (by something I liked), it would go away.

3. It would return with vengeance when triggered by traumatic event, then it would serve as coping device although that's rare. I cannot DD when I'm too stressed. But mostly when I get sad, depressed or when I read a book or see movie/tv show that sparks my attention and worst of all, if I develop a crush on some character/actor from book/tv show.

[Wish Upon A Wish]

I don't believe mine's ever stopped. It may have lessened at times, probably through fewer ideas, but I don't keep a record of any sort, and I'm not good at remembering or figuring out WHEN things happen. Is saying I don't have a good concept of time correct? I don't know how else to word it without some big-arsed explanation.

[Lauren W.]

I'm new to this forum, but I've been thinking about this a lot.

1. Did your MD ever stop for a certain period of time?

Yes, I've had periods with little to now daydreaming. The time I recall best was also what I considered my happiest time in life, during college when I was extremely engaged in classes, working, playing a sport, dating, and socializing. 

2. If yes, did it simply stop by itself or was cessation triggered by an event in your life?

I remember thinking that I was finally living out the dreams I'd spent so much time on. I didn't have the time or inclination to space out: I found my life fascinating.

3. When your MD returned, was it triggered by something?

It returned soon after I started grad school. Even though I was working, studying, etc and thought I was living out yet another dream, I became very preoccupied with the desire to have a baby. I do think that hormones exacerbate my MD if I think back over patterns in my life. I became obsessed and that pretty much brought MD back into my life on a more regular basis. It ebbs and flows depending on time, but the more disenchanted I am with my life, the more I wish I had time for MD and the more I will pursue mental stories.

[Eretaia]

Oh, interesting. What kind of links precisely did you find between MD and hormones?

Lauren W. said:

3. When your MD returned, was it triggered by something?

It returned soon after I started grad school. Even though I was working, studying, etc and thought I was living out yet another dream, I became very preoccupied with the desire to have a baby. I do think that hormones exacerbate my MD if I think back over patterns in my life. I became obsessed and that pretty much brought MD back into my life on a more regular basis. It ebbs and flows depending on time, but the more disenchanted I am with my life, the more I wish I had time for MD and the more I will pursue mental stories.

[taffle]

1 and 2. My MD did stop when school and real life keeps me so busy that I have no time to MD. This can happen anywhere from a few days to several months. For example, when I had so many exams coming up, the studying keeps me so preoccupied that I didn't MD for a while. Also, before I was exposed to anime and manga, I didn't MD as much. After I began exploring anime and manga, my imagination went wild and it felt like my mind was on fire!

3. My MD is usually triggered by negative events and by boredom. If I experience a traumatic situation, I find myself MDing more. And it's also because I don't have much of life that I MD more. I want to feel emotions that normal people feel, experience what they experience, and MD is my tool for doing so.

[Lauren W.]

I have noticed that I MD more when I'm feeling (ahem) horny or depressed. Those things tend to line up with my cycle. I noticed a lot of MD during one of my pregnancies, too, but the first year after my kids were born I didn't do much MD until my cycle returned. I know that MD became a much bigger part of my life during puberty. I don't think it's necessarily causal, but it's definitely correlated.

Eretaia said:

Oh, interesting. What kind of links precisely did you find between MD and hormones?

Lauren W. said:

3. When your MD returned, was it triggered by something?

It returned soon after I started grad school. Even though I was working, studying, etc and thought I was living out yet another dream, I became very preoccupied with the desire to have a baby. I do think that hormones exacerbate my MD if I think back over patterns in my life. I became obsessed and that pretty much brought MD back into my life on a more regular basis. It ebbs and flows depending on time, but the more disenchanted I am with my life, the more I wish I had time for MD and the more I will pursue mental stories.

[Eretaia]

I think hormonal imbalance plays an enormous role in MD. Sure, it's a coping mechanism and an avoidance technique, but you really have to have a hormonal mess in your heads to develop such a mechanism. My MD flared up when I was 13, and it's when I had my first period. I'm not 100% sure if one triggered another, but like you said, there are definitely correlations. Before entering puberty, I was such a relaxed and carefree kid, yet upon entering it, I grew a bit depressed, and instead of developing high sexual drive like all other teens, mine drastically decreased and that's when my MD came into play. It's probably estrogen messing with dopamine. I've been intending to make a thread about MD and menstruation and puberty for quite a while.

Lauren W. said:

I have noticed that I MD more when I'm feeling (ahem) horny or depressed. Those things tend to line up with my cycle. I noticed a lot of MD during one of my pregnancies, too, but the first year after my kids were born I didn't do much MD until my cycle returned. I know that MD became a much bigger part of my life during puberty. I don't think it's necessarily causal, but it's definitely correlated.

[Lauren W.]

Let's get that thread started! I was looking at descriptions of PMDD and wondering if it fit. I have also been thinking about my mood and daydreaming during/after my pregnancies.

Eretaia said:

I think hormonal imbalance plays an enormous role in MD. Sure, it's a coping mechanism and an avoidance technique, but you really have to have a hormonal mess in your heads to develop such a mechanism. My MD flared up when I was 13, and it's when I had my first period. I'm not 100% sure if one triggered another, but like you said, there are definitely correlations. Before entering puberty, I was such a relaxed and carefree kid, yet upon entering it, I grew a bit depressed, and instead of developing high sexual drive like all other teens, mine drastically decreased and that's when my MD came into play. It's probably estrogen messing with dopamine. I've been intending to make a thread about MD and menstruation and puberty for quite a while.

Lauren W. said:

I have noticed that I MD more when I'm feeling (ahem) horny or depressed. Those things tend to line up with my cycle. I noticed a lot of MD during one of my pregnancies, too, but the first year after my kids were born I didn't do much MD until my cycle returned. I know that MD became a much bigger part of my life during puberty. I don't think it's necessarily causal, but it's definitely correlated.

[Jenna]

1. My MD stopped for a month once. I literally couldn't hold a dd longer than a minute. So basically I was dding only 3-5 mins a day.

2.It stopped for no reason, it literally came out of no where.

3.  I can't really remember but I believe it was triggered back when I started having suicidal thoughts.