“I have spent a very large part of my life inside my head, and right now, I am mourning a life that could never exist outside of my imagination.”
This sentence is not just the silent cry of someone who loves to daydream, but of someone trapped inside their own mind. We all daydream; it is known that 96% of Americans experience this and that this cognitive process constitutes almost half of human thought.
However, for some, this situation goes beyond a sweet escape and turns into a functioning-impairing behavioral addiction called “Maladaptive Daydreaming”.
From An Innocent Escape To Addiction
Historically, psychologists like Freud have seen daydreaming as a tool to cope with internal conflicts and to relieve states of deprivation. However, Eli Somer, who introduced this new definition to the literature, approaches the condition as a type of behavioral addiction. Unlike normal mind-wandering, Maladaptive Daydreaming consists of highly structured, fantastic fictions that progress like a TV series script, contain dynamic emotions, and can last for hours. Most of the time, repetitive physical movements (rocking, walking, etc.) and even music accompany these daydreams. While individuals generally describe these daydreams as “not boring, fascinating” worlds, they paradoxically feel a loss of control over the act itself. In one of Somer’s cases, a client summarizes the situation as follows: “I don’t choose it, it chooses me.”
Why Does It Start? Seven Basic Dynamics
In a conducted study, individuals experiencing maladaptive daydreaming were interviewed, and 7 common themes regarding the origin of this behavior were identified:
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Innate Ability: These individuals generally have an innate, very vivid capacity for daydreaming.
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Social Isolation: Loneliness and social isolation in childhood open the doors to the dream world. However, this is a vicious cycle; as the person daydreams, they become even lonelier.
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Escape from Trauma: Family dysfunction or poor living conditions cause the child to escape from painful reality and take refuge in a safe inner world.
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Emotional Reward: The inner world provides the love, success, and support that cannot be found in the outside world.
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Insatiable Craving (Addiction): Individuals begin to avoid social life or responsibilities, saying “I need my fix” in order to daydream.
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Shame and Fear: Many people fear this situation, mistaking it for a sign of “insanity,” and hide it even from their therapists out of deep shame.
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Unsuccessful Treatment: The lack of sufficient knowledge about the condition leads to misdiagnoses and ineffective treatments.
Attention Deficit Or Daydreaming Addiction?
Maladaptive Daydreaming is frequently confused with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, there are critical differences between the two. While mind-wandering is generally random and a state of inability to focus, Maladaptive Daydreaming is a focused fiction that the person intentionally initiates and feels a strong desire to continue. In fact, according to an interesting finding, while focus-enhancing drugs like Ritalin increase the academic performance of ADHD patients; they can deepen and worsen the daydreaming behavior of someone experiencing mental health issues like Maladaptive Daydreaming.
Immersive Or Maladaptive?
Not every intense daydreaming is an “illness.” People experiencing “Immersive Daydreaming” also have a rich imagination, but they are in control; they can stop when they want to, and this situation does not disrupt their lives. Maladaptive Daydreaming, on the other hand, is a point where functioning is impaired, and the person cannot stop even though they want to.
Conclusion: Returning To The Present
This condition, which generally starts at ages 10-15 and peaks between ages 18-35, can continue into older ages when it becomes chronic. Although there is not yet a standard treatment protocol in the mental health field, Somer’s most important recommendation is “returning to the present” practices. The person approaching themselves with compassion, realizing which emotional need the daydreams stem from (keeping a record), and making the outside world “livable” by bringing the beauties in the inner world into real life are the first steps on the path to recovery. Let’s not forget that daydreaming is an ability; the problem is when this ability takes the place of reality.
References
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Somer, E., Lehrfeld, J., Bigelsen, J., & Jopp, D. S. (2016). Development and validation of the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS). Consciousness and cognition, 39, 77-91.
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Soffer-Dudek, N., & Theodor-Katz, N. (2022). Maladaptive daydreaming: Epidemiological data on a newly identified syndrome. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 871041.
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Somer, E., Somer, L., & Jopp, D. S. (2016). Childhood antecedents and maintaining factors in maladaptive daydreaming. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 204(6), 471-478.