How far does your daydreaming go?

[Jody]

I was listening to Grey Artist's radio brodcast about maladaptive daydreaming and relationships and I noticed that she frequently described this condition as being beyond her control. It got me wondering how other MDers view their condition.

Do you think of MD as a habit? A compulsion? An addiction? Or, do you feel like it's beyond your control -- like it's happening to you?

Personally I see it as an addiction. I frequently seek out opportunities to daydream and getI upset when thoseI opporunities are takenyou from me. I often catch myself doing it when I didn't intend to, so I guess it's also compulsory.

[rose]

 

I am the same as you. I think it is addiction and compulsory for me. But some people are diffirent. They cannot control themselves even in puplic. so it is not just addiction for them.

[Jody]

Agreed. I know that it can be difficult at times to focus on the real world, but it hadn't occured to me that some people might not be able to switch it off at all.
I suspect that most MDers choose to daydream in order to cope with issues in the real world, but I guess for others it might not be a conscious choice. I wonder if for those individuals MDing is a result of brain chemistry, or imbalances.

[M Hunter]

I have daydreamed all my life. I don't think it has anything to do with boredom or escaping negative emotions. Although it can serve those purposes that wasn't why it initially started for me.  I spend perhaps 10-12 hours a day daydreaming and the vast majority of the time it isn't a choice. Sometimes I will consciously decide to indulge if I feel a need to find a certain comfort there I am struggling to obtain in real life but overall I have little say. In fact sometimes I'm not even aware I am daydreaming when I am which often leaves me muddled up between what is real and what isn't.
Daydreaming feels like a parallel world running alongside my own or as I have described it before it acts as an overlay on my physical reality as I've always had the ability to make myself hallucinate certain things I am daydreaming about which further adds to the confusion over what is real or not.

[greyartist]

Hunter that is  a good way to describe it, "Daydreaming feels like a parallel world running alongside my own"

and it seems sometimes you are forced to stop and watch.

[Jody]

I spend probably 5-6 hours intentionally daydreaming about my main story. My job is pretty mindless so I usually spend another 4-8 hours "multi-tasking", (working and daydreaming). Then probably another 3 hours zoning out after work. This zoning out time is often spent picturing my idealized self.

I float in and out of intentionally daydreaming all day, but I'm always able to "snap out of it" once I realize I'm doing it. I certainly go through withdrawals, but I can usually focus on something important if I have to.

But what is it like when you can't focus on anything and dreams take over? How do you function? And how can you keep it secret?

[charm]

definatly an addiction for me too, I get so anoyed at being interupted from a chance to daydream. I have even caught myself snapping at my daughter not to interupt me when Im talking, only to relize the conversation was happening in my head so she had no idea she was "interupting". Yup definatly getting to the point of extreme. I am trying hard to restrain my MD and live more in this world.

[taffle]

Daydreaming is an addiction but also a hobby of mine, kind of like watching a movie in my head. I don't daydream all the time, sometimes I can control it.  And meditation seems to help too.

[Futur5]

I don't like Daydream but don't know why I kept indulge in daydream...the daydream seems reluctant out from my head.I don't know why I kept daydream even though devastated severe in my life.Damn,I really had to find alternative ways to get out from this image world.Damn....just damn...