Has anyone tried stopping DDing and had any sort of result?

[Lisa Smith]

Or another way to word this question would be: What changes have you noticed when you stop DDing...or at least planned DDs?

 

I have started about 3 days ago stopping DDing altogether; and what i mean by that is no planned DDs at all and the ones i catch myself in, ill allow, but stop them as soon as im aware im in them. Also as soon as i start thinking about the fact i want to stop ill actually tell myself to focus as much as i can on what im doing; like if im washing my hands ill concentrate as hard as i can to feel the tempurature of the water and the feeling of my hands rubbing together, my feet on the floor in standing position etc. to practice being more mindful. The expression 'Do one thing everyday that scares you' has also helped me a little because feeling uncomfortable in any way means you're in reality; daydreaming is trying to make ourselves comfortable by escaping reality. And it could be anything; like i hate taking off my makeup with those cold makeup remover wipes but i force myself to stay with reality and feel how cold it is and feel the feelings of discomfort. Thats just a small one though, lol...that may just be meaningless to some people...the thing ive noticed though, is that those feelings of mild dicomfort are the exact feelings i have everytime i stop a DD, it feels like 'entering reality'. Personally i think that everytime we feel that, we are rewiring our brains...and that would definatly be good!

 

So far i feel a tiny bit less awkward socially and possibly a little happier but it could just be a placebo. For me i think seeing changes is going to mean completly retraining my brain's way of thinking because i'm finding it hard to just think about a certain topic without it turning into an imaginary conversation or something. But as of now, its really weird but i think i may be feeling a tiny bit more intigrated into reality; like my situations and concerns of things ACTUALLY going on seem to have a slightly hightened significance as if by magic...and this is helping with having motivation to complete tasks...its hard to explain but once again it may just be a placebo.

 

So have any of you guys tried stopping and seen any type of result at all? Ive seen a few people mention being less awkard socially...

[Teagan Heart]

This sounds like it actually makes sense. I'will try this

[Lisa Smith]

no, lol, im still in the same boat. Then again, I havn't been trying to stop it for a while now...I had a lot of stressful situations happen since I wrote this. Then again, the times when I finally get out of my fantasy world, and this is rare, are when I discover something about myself and grow as a person. Its almost like I grow as a person in spurts, in between periods of daydreaming instead of all the time like normal people. For me, I let emotions stay bottled up and I 'cover' them with my daydreaming until I cant ignore them anymore and I am forced to pay attention to my actual self and my emotional well being. I also realized I really like to DD when I am in a good mood. When im in a bad mood and 'hit with reality' with some depressing fact I just cant get myself to DD. It seems sadness and 'soul searching', both very intense things, are the only things force me into reality and make me stop me DDing.
 
Soul Dreamer said:

I want to stop daydreaming, but haven't yet been able to. The way I control it is by setting myself challenges like don't daydream for the next two hours, don't daydream while so-and-so are at the house, etc. It's my short term fix, since the reward is excessive daydreaming. I once went a whole week using this way once. Earlier, I tried to quit 'cold turkey' and only lasted 2 days before the withdrawal symptoms had me back on my daily dose.

After that week long break from dd-ing I found that I could remember spoken instructions better. Normally my mum tells me to do a chore during the day, but I completely forget. After the break, I remembered easily. Also, the want to daydream was lessened significantly, even after my challenge was complete and I was 'allowed' to indulge. It was more out of habit, and less because of addiction that I fell back into it.

The mindfulness thing you mentioned sounded like a good idea. Out of curiosity, have you had any luck with md since you posted this last year?

[Jack Harris]

Hey there, I stopped back in April, and so far I think its had a positive effect. As soon as I found out about this condition, I stopped because I believed it could be the end of my social anxiety issues. I used to daydream whilst running up and around my room shaking an object. After stopping, I felt a boost of confidence, and I have been more comfortable since. I still, however, have difficulties interacting with people who have known me for a long time as it would be strange to suddenly have a different personality around them. However, I have been a lot more confident and happy when meeting new people. I think the reason why I was able to stop was because I was at university at the time, and there was a lot to do to keep me busy.