what methods have you tried to apply to get yourself to stop dreaming

[drifter]

I've read in this forum of people trying to stay away from things that trigger them to go into a fantasy world like music, some stopped eating certain food

[phoenix62]

Hum. The only thing that really helps me is medicine. I really believe it's a symptom of depression. (for me, anyhow)..
I haven't had problems for a long time, and I have been really lucky to NOT have to take antidepressants for some time....but I suffer from atypical major depressive disorder-have been since I was 16-and I think-well, I know-I am having another depressive episode. I have to see a shrink...and god, I don't want to.

FWIW, I've taken Norpramin 75 mg daily and Klopion(?sp) -um, think 2 mg daily? can't recall- in the past...recently I've taken Wellbutrin 300 mg briefly in 2006-2007, a GP wrote the script. I had to practically BEG them to.

No GP will do this again, I really don't think. I understand where they are coming from.
So, I have to go through all the mess again, not to mention trying to recall my past history. Meh. That alone is going to be a bitch....

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Interesting. While I maintain this is a separate disorder in itself, I definitely acknowledge that for some people, it may be a result of an underlying issue.

Either way, it's really helpful to know what works for what kinds of people, so thanks for sharing. I'd love to ask you more, if you don't mind. How long did you daydream? When did you start, roughly? Are you a lifer, or did this start as the result of something? Some people may start later in life, and I kinda suspect it may be a result of depression for them. That's just a theory though.

phoenix62 said:

Hum. The only thing that really helps me is medicine. I really believe it's a symptom of depression. (for me, anyhow)..
I haven't had problems for a long time, and I have been really lucky to NOT have to take antidepressants for some time....but I suffer from atypical major depressive disorder-have been since I was 16-and I think-well, I know-I am having another depressive episode. I have to see a shrink...and god, I don't want to.

FWIW, I've taken Norpramin 75 mg daily and Klopion(?sp) -um, think 2 mg daily? can't recall- in the past...recently I've taken Wellbutrin 300 mg briefly in 2006-2007, a GP wrote the script. I had to practically BEG them to.

No GP will do this again, I really don't think. I understand where they are coming from.
So, I have to go through all the mess again, not to mention trying to recall my past history. Meh. That alone is going to be a bitch....

[phoenix62]

Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:

Interesting. While I maintain this is a separate disorder in itself, I definitely acknowledge that for some people, it may be a result of an underlying issue.

Either way, it's really helpful to know what works for what kinds of people, so thanks for sharing. I'd love to ask you more, if you don't mind. How long did you daydream? When did you start, roughly? Are you a lifer, or did this start as the result of something? Some people may start later in life, and I kinda suspect it may be a result of depression for them. That's just a theory though.

phoenix62 said:

Hum. The only thing that really helps me is medicine. I really believe it's a symptom of depression. (for me, anyhow)..
I haven't had problems for a long time, and I have been really lucky to NOT have to take antidepressants for some time....but I suffer from atypical major depressive disorder-have been since I was 16-and I think-well, I know-I am having another depressive episode. I have to see a shrink...and god, I don't want to.

FWIW, I've taken Norpramin 75 mg daily and Klopion(?sp) -um, think 2 mg daily? can't recall- in the past...recently I've taken Wellbutrin 300 mg briefly in 2006-2007, a GP wrote the script. I had to practically BEG them to.

No GP will do this again, I really don't think. I understand where they are coming from.
So, I have to go through all the mess again, not to mention trying to recall my past history. Meh. That alone is going to be a bitch....

I hope you got to read what i wrote...
I had to delete it. I was a bit worried about some information, I know that the chance is slim and none that the people/person I was discussing would be ID'd, but it was worrying me. Sorry....one is kinda somewhat in the public eye....on occasion...

[phoenix62]

Hey, just some information, if it helps, fine, if not, just ignore it.

While waiting for a doctor to prescribe antidepressants (again after a few years break) I have started to use St John's Wort...the recommended dose. After 3 weeks, it seems to help a lot....not completely...but a lot.

Just wanted to put that out there. Mind, you really want to tell your doc you are doing this, it can interfere with other meds and it has side effects, so....

Thanks for all the help and info...and I do hope you all get the relief you are looking for.

I really hope the people who are researching this find out the cause (s) and types and treatments. I really think from what everyone's posting there are different types...and I suspect mine is a part of a larger problem, or a symptom of depression. I could be wrong, though....b/c it started YEARS before I was depressed.

Hum. I really would love to know what causes it...

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Interesting. Maybe you don't have it as an underlying condition. Every doc I've ever had has said I have really severe depression........but I don't think I do. It may sound crazy.........but not everyone who's depressed has depression. I've spent my life doing largely nothing and spending all my time daydreaming. That would make anyone a bit depressed. Depression isn't just a list of symptoms, though. It's not just feeling sad & lying around all the time. If it were, then any of us who daydreaming while lying down would have it. If I were to quit daydreaming and participate more in the outside world then I just know my depression would diminish. The few moments where I've felt somewhat inspired & participated more that has happened. Plus no meds have ever worked, even a little bit. If depression is really a disease that causes every bad thing in our lives then one would think some treatment would work at some point.
Anyway, if the treatments are helping you, then maybe you do have it. I don't know. However, it's something to think about.

phoenix62 said:

Hey, just some information, if it helps, fine, if not, just ignore it.

While waiting for a doctor to prescribe antidepressants (again after a few years break) I have started to use St John's Wort...the recommended dose. After 3 weeks, it seems to help a lot....not completely...but a lot.

Just wanted to put that out there. Mind, you really want to tell your doc you are doing this, it can interfere with other meds and it has side effects, so....

Thanks for all the help and info...and I do hope you all get the relief you are looking for.

I really hope the people who are researching this find out the cause (s) and types and treatments. I really think from what everyone's posting there are different types...and I suspect mine is a part of a larger problem, or a symptom of depression. I could be wrong, though....b/c it started YEARS before I was depressed.

Hum. I really would love to know what causes it...

[Skylar Grey]

its like you practically pulled that straight out of my mind. i couldnt have said it any better myself. and here i was believing i was so alone.

Sarah said:

I'm exactly the same. Guilt myself out of it. Tell myself I should be trying harder with the real world instead of choosing the easy option.

Music is a huge trigger for me. When music is playing I'm almost guaranteed to be 'elsewhere'. Getting an iPod was probably a bad move for me. I'm almost permanently hooked up. Every now and then I try to give it up for a while but I've never managed more than a day or two.

I totally agree with this:

"Sometimes I'll get bored with my story lines. I still try and relive them until I start to feel physically ill. At this point I have to force myself to do something else, or I'll just sink deeper & deeper & feel weird & out of touch with reality."

I get quite upset when a particular storyline fails me. Something that I've got so much out of in the past. Always sad to say goodbye. Sometimes then things quieten down for a bit, but then something I read, or see on TV, or some situation I find myself in in the real world will spark a new story and we're off again.

[Leanne Schneider]

I have just realised, after reading a lot of things on this website, that perhaps we should all be looking at ways in which we can utilise our daydreams instead of trying to be normal, and making them go away. I have just started writing a book about my daydreams, so everytime I dream I will write about it immediately.

I expect that there are people out there who could only hope to have an imagination as vivid as ours, so we should share our experiences with them. I also feel that if we put a purpose to our daydreams, we feel more in control of our reality, even if we cannot control where our minds wander to.

[Penguin]

Down to very little DDing, pretty much cured (or, rather, changed) not thanks to any specific method, though they helped.

This here's written pretty carelessly.

 

What I've tried for significant periods of time:

 

* Replacing DDs with useful mundane thoughts, particularly repeating foreign vocab. Somewhat useful, can't do it all day.

 

* Guilting and deriding myself. Bad results.

 

* Taking blocks of time to concentrate on study. I would (and still sometimes do) take 3-5 min blocks with a timer and study something, ticking every occasion I got distracted (which means DDing almost always), did so for 50 mins. Would focus on cutting down on the number of ticks. Very useful but could only do it for about 3 hours a day and only with things like math.

 

* Being in direct contact with others. The only time I had never been able to DD was when I was having a conversation that wasn't with either someone repulsive (ie who I am pissed at) or a cute girl I had some
ittybitty hots for. I also couldn't think anything else during that
(which is why I used to sound either pissed of or retarded all the
time). Not a method, of course, but I guess significant enough for a
mention.

 

* Getting very amped about myself and the task at hand. Forcing myself to be happy through phrases. Helped to cut out a lot of the acutely insecurity-DDs, very useful, best done every couple of hours and before demanding tasks.

 

* Mimicking different emotions and moods by memory. Very weird and very interesting. My reasoning is that as I can change my emotional state through DDs I should be able to do so without relying on fantasy. Used (and still do, a lot) memories of specific moods--usually happy and focused ones but I like to experiment with anxiety and depression as well, as well as abrupt changes from happy to sad--and tried to invoke the sensations associated with them--how my stomach or hands usually feel when I'm elated, for example. Very useful, not always effective but that's prolly cuz I'm not very good at it yet.

 

* General humility. My DDs have a lot to do with protecting my fragile ego. Purposefully circumventing DDing--before I began to deal with MD I would parse all thoughts through DDs--with direct self-talk (as opposed to self-talk in a fantasy setting) with the content of thinking through my flaws as a person. Extremely useful. This has also lead me to think a lot about morality (I used to have a simple, and stupid, moral nihilist view).

 

* Empathizing with others. Using the my imagination to think of the huge variation in personalities, what makes others tick, how difficult it is to improve oneself for everyone, and so on. Made my own problems seem a lot more insignificant, also became a lot more humble in the process. Extremely useful and relaxing.

 

* Using my adeptness at conjuring up compelling worlds for non-MD DDs. This is distinct from MD which I associate with a very specific, though subtle, sensation (particularly in the esophagus and behind the eyes, if it matters). Only learned to do this lately and holy fuck is this useful. I usually extrapolate dreamlike images and arrangements from what I see immediately. For example when I'm talking to someone I might change the color of their face or accentuate features, I might  try to translate my walking trajectory into mathematics the best I can (which isn't very well), or I might have funnybunnies jumping in front of my face repeating Chinese vocabulary; and I go crazy with it if I happen to be bored. It's like MD DDing without it being compulsive and certainly not emotionally fulfilling (the addictive part in MD). This one's the best method I have for both relieving anxiety and falling asleep, it's also entertaining as hell and helps to improve my focus on real stuff a lot (as in work or study).

 

* Learning to see old things in new light. The connection with MD is that as I reevaluate my ideas and dispositions I sort of oscillate around the rigid structure of my daydreaming world thus confusing it, confusing myself, and in doing so learning to think about things without parsing them through DDs. I've learned to consistently do it only recently, the main problem I had before was that I could have 'sincere' thinking only for around 15-30 minutes before the subject became a part of my DDs. Very useful, though I guess it's more of an outcome of cutting down MD rather than a cause of the decrease. Or maybe I can just call it an advanced technique in the Academy of Matters Penguinical.

 

* This is obvious: Diet and exercise. Eating good shit instead of bad shit, lifting heavy things (well, that's what I like to do, YMMV) and breaking a sweat are huge. Not a technique, of course, but still very important.

 

There's other stuff, I think, but I'm tired. Maybe I'll remember to finish this tomorrow.

[Nomad]

I like your humility idea.  My MO is to feel like garbage in real life and to pretend I'm a big shot in my fantasies. How embarrassing~I'll readily admit that I have low self esteem, but I don't want my repressed (corresponding?) vanity exposed. Nevertheless, exposure and defense-dropping seem to be crucial. When I do humbling, self-accepting things--being honest, listening to others with an open mind, facing uncomfortable social situations instead of fleeing, etc.--my need for escape diminishes. So I think you're onto something. 

Penguin said

* General humility. My DDs have a lot to do with protecting my fragile ego. Purposefully circumventing DDing--before I began to deal with MD I would parse all thoughts through DDs--with direct self-talk (as opposed to self-talk in a fantasy setting) with the content of thinking through my flaws as a person. Extremely useful. This has also lead me to think a lot about morality (I used to have a simple, and stupid, moral nihilist view).

 

 

[Katherine]

I don't think I will be able to stop dreaming ... I'm not ready to face the "real world" yet.  On revolution health following Cordelia's post was an anonymous post about a book called "Willpower's not enough: Recovering from Addictions of Every Kind"  The poster described the book and I was in tears as the description of addiction fitted my view of daydreaming acutely.  I hadn't viewed my daydreaming as an addiciton but I realise it is.

 

Avoiding listening to music and not watching dramatic TV shows does help reduce the DD (haven't gone into a massive DD yet today) but I don't think I'm going to stop DD till 1) I get treatment for my addiction (and I just don't want to do that) or 2) I can morph the real world into an engaging landscape of perpetual entertainment, which isn't exactly going to happen.

 

My plan is to try and make my real as engaging and happy as possible and maybe then I'll feel brave enough to face my addiction.  I am gradually getting more friends which is helping a great deal (though I'm fussy, neurotic and a lot of people irritate me after long periods).  I always thought I would stop daydreaming once I get married, but since many here or on revolution health are/were married I know that's won't be the magical cure.

[sarah stone]

I read a great idea: write down your daydreams.  It's scary to do so, but maybe getting them out of your head and onto paper will "kill" them, or maybe you'll become a novelist...either way, you're not burdened by them.

 

P.S. I don't have the courage to try this.

 

[Rachel S]

Katherine,

 

Isn't it sad that we have to stop listening to music and watching TV to stop our daydreaming? You're totally right though. I've had stop watching my favourite programmes... and I really love those programmes... because I incorporate them into daydreams. Also, I've had to stop listening to some brilliant songs as I just listen to the same ones over and over as they fit the mood of my characters. It's sort of working, a bit.

 

How sad though that we have to stop indulging in the things we like, to kill daydreaming, which we also like. But it's necessary, I think.