The chicken or the egg?

[Lola]

First off I have to say I haven't researched MD a lot, I think I'm still in the stage where I'm  not convinced it's a disorder per say, just something which I alone do on the whole planet- than of course I come to this site and remember there are a lot of us. Anyway, my question to you is this - do you think, from your own personal experiences, that MD is a cognitive disorder, or a coping mechanism? in other words: if you happen to be one of those who feel (well, alright, who know), that their life is in shambles because of this nasty habit, would you say that daydreaming is what you do to escape from unpleasant reality, or that the daydreaming is what caused all of it in the first place?   a messed up life and excessive dreaming- what's the chicken and what's the egg? 

[greyartist]

"do you think, from your own personal experiences, that MD is a cognitive disorder, or a coping mechanism?"

I think it can be both, but from my  personal experience I would say cognitive disorder. Due to the fact that I didn't grow up doing it, I didn't have a habit of DDing. It started very suddenly for me just over a year ago. Not having gone through any traumatic event I can only blame it on chemical changes in my brain. 

But it seems clearly based on other's experiences that it most definitely can be a coping mechanism. 

[Steve C]

same

Jack F. said:

In my case, I started daydreaming excessively at a pretty young age - I remember doing it around age 5. My life at the time was ok, so, for me, the daydreaming came first.

 

[molly hodge]

Well, i started daydreaming when i was extremely young, probably around 3 or 4. I remember being bullied a little, though it wasnt too bad. I think i used it just to help me when i played pretend, and it somehow turned into MDD (though this is just a bad hypothesis based on my personal experience)

[OhMyMagenta]

Like many others, I started DDing at a young age; maybe 5 or 6. For me, it was a coping mechanism, as I suffered substantial medical, emotional, and educational neglect. Additionally, I was sexually molested around this time, so I had to contend with all the trauma this brought along. I don't think my DDing advanced to MDD until my high school years however, when I was in an abusive relationship. DDing was my way to avoid addressing the issue, and remain safe in my own head.
Like most mental health disorders, one can make the nature vs. nurture argument. Is it biologically or environmentally determined, or a combo of both? Every person is different, and a disorder can look different for one person to the next. I lean towards a combo of both myself. Things like this are too tough to nail down one root cause.

[Lola]

wow, that is amazing! I had no idea this can actually start suddenly at a later stage in life! most interesting. 

greyartist said:

"do you think, from your own personal experiences, that MD is a cognitive disorder, or a coping mechanism?"

I think it can be both, but from my  personal experience I would say cognitive disorder. Due to the fact that I didn't grow up doing it, I didn't have a habit of DDing. It started very suddenly for me just over a year ago. Not having gone through any traumatic event I can only blame it on chemical changes in my brain. 

But it seems clearly based on other's experiences that it most definitely can be a coping mechanism.