How did your MDD develop?

[Vesta Harford]

At what age did the MDD begin? How long did it last? What do you think caused it? What factors increased the severity? Please feel free to share your experience.

Personally, I am unsure of how my MDD began, but I think it most likely began from the tendency to create imaginary friends. That tendency was at first harmless, but later became compulsive.

Before this compulsive habit, my daydreams were non-maladaptive, benign, and simple. However, as I grew up, my daydreams expanded to become complex worlds. The daydreams contained their own complex cast of characters, setting, and storylines. In middle school, the MDD began to incorporate fantasies of better versions of myself, such as more popular or athletic versions of me.

Another thing that made my MDD go downhill was the desire to write a book. People told me that I had a great imagination and I was addicted to that high. Yes, I know, writing a book is a great outlet for MDD... but in my case, it WORSENED my MDD. (It's hard to explain and I don't feel like going into detail about it.) I wasted many years trying to write a book. Now that I'm older, I know that that is not want I want to do anymore. However the, the emotional attachments that I formed with my characters make it very difficult to let go.

Something else that propelled me into DD'ing was my loneliness. Throughout my teens, I was socially awkward in a painful way, and had a difficult time connecting to other students (especially boys.) My mother was also unable to connect with me on an emotional level. I remember that I would do grocery shopping or just any activity and tried to have fun with my emotionally distant mom, but I just couldn't do it. I also tried to join various clubs with other students but I was often left out and unable to make friends or have fun. I felt so bored, empty, and lonely that I created imaginary characters who could make the experiences more fun and intimate.

[MatthewR]

I used to create imaginary friends. I do remember talking to people in my head when i was younger, but i didn't think that was weird. I was a very lonely child, and i didn't have many stable relationships back then. My friends in real life didn't last long, so i resorted to creating them in my imagination. The rest of what you say i relate to as well. 

[Rose]

The only times of my life when I was not daydreaming where when I was about 11 and my mum told me to stop, a couple of nervous breakdowns, and the ocasional week since the last few years where I've managed to keep my mind otherwise occupied

[FT]

Hello there! And well, this is my story:

You see, ever since I was a child I would spend a lot of time alone, i've always been really shy. I'm guessing it's because my parents were overprotective and did everything for me without asking, so I would expect the others to do the same too.

Anyway, because of the way I was "programmed" I didn't have many friends. I was also taught to be kind, but that only made it easier for other kids to get their way with me and pick on me. I thought that was normal, I had no one to tell me that was not okay!
I knew that If I told my parents about my problems at school, they would move me without hesitation! I was scared of that, because that would mean that I would loss the few things I had and start over again, which was really hard for me.

So, to endure and ease all of my pain and loneliness, I started to daydream. It was like arriving to a new house, where it's empty, but you're eager to fill it up with furniture and other stuff.

Soon enough, I realized that I would rather spend my whole days daydreaming than living in this harsh world.

(Sorry for the long reply, I really needed to get that out of my chest)