- Username
- verydistressed
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Hi there, Maladaptive daydreaming has limited research, but has been documented to have a correlation with obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is a spectrum disorder, and while MDD isn’t formally listed under it, the disorder has been proven to have a high comorbidity with a variety of other mental disorders. I’ve lived with MDD since the age of 3. The MDD can be treated in the same regard as OCD because you’re dealing with a compulsive behavior in response to obsessional thinking. Just like doing ERP, you can overcome the maladaptive behavior by exposing yourself to triggers (books, movies, music) and resisting the compulsion to daydream. It’s common to have physical compulsions while you daydream (rocking, pacing, jumping etc). And resisting these physical compulsions can help in limiting your mental compulsions. I don’t foresee myself ever fully eliminating my MDD, especially since I’ve managed to function with it. That being said, in recognizing how my OCD has manifested in other ways, I’ve found it beneficial to be mindful of managing it too.
Hi! Does the ERP has helped you in your MD?
Hey! This is called maladaptive day dreaming. I’ve experienced it to some degree, and it has a lot to do with certain psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression and developmental disorders, predominantly ADHD. From what I know, it’s safe to say MOST people, regardless of whether they’re struggling with mental health, do this. It’s when it becomes excessive and gets in the way of functioning that it’s an issue and becomes termed as maladaptive daydreaming. I haven’t experienced it to this degree, but I know that even though it feels good to fantasise, focussing on the external world and your REAL life is so much more valuable, and ultimately it is wasting your time. When you feel that urge to slip into a maladaptive daydream, fight it. Think about something else you would like to do, and before you know it, you’re so absorbed in what you’re doing that you don’t even think about! But other than that, do some research on it and see what you feel is best for you!
It's not as bad as it was at some point and it's never really affected my life except maybe the aspect of me not being that present in my life. But I'll try fighting it and hopefully I'll stop
@verydistressed Remember that trying nor to think makes you think more
Can this also apply to conversation? Like sometimes I have imaginary conversations imagining it's happening with my friends and stuff
@verydistressed I do this too and I'm not sure that this is an issue
@verydistressed I thin this is about having active imagination. Our brain constantly generates different outcomes off of different situations. And when you do this excessively I think it means that you are kind of bored
@Daria Alexandrovna I didn't find anything worth with it then I started doing it out loud and my parents told me it was weird. I also sometimes have a fear of developing schizophrenia so these thoughts and daydreams kind of cause me anxiety sometimes
@verydistressed this fear is not rare in ocd community
The best treatment from excessive thinking is action. Hobbies, active games, for someone - work and study.
And communication. You can't daydream when you're engaged in the convo
I love to day dream, about different scenarios, different people! Just fun stuff. It’s calming, but then ... I’ll turn it into, if I’m day dreaming all the time I’m not fully living my life... and maybe I do this because I’m not really happy with my real life... and I should feel bad because I’m never fully present... which makes me a terrible person - AND THEN WHAT IF- Anyone else have this issue? How do you relax, because it’s exhausting?
Recently I have been struggling with sexual themed OCD and my main concern is that I can't help but thinking of real life situations, sexual thoughts, and feeling like I would enjoy it in real life (pocd, etc). I even have dreams in which I enjoy these sexual situations. I even feel like I like to think of these thoughts to test myself. I feel really disgusting and lost... Is is OCD or real attraction? Does it happen to anyone else? Would anyone have advice for me? Thank you so much and good luck 🫂
I struggle so, so much with maladaptive daydreaming, have since I was little, and it's taken over my life. I want it to stop, but it's so hard when my thoughts keep REPEATING. I've heard from others that I'll need to break my own heart, tell myself that nothing I'm thinking is real, and to face up to reality. I know daydreaming is a distracting and reality-voiding coping mechanism, and it's not healthy or helpful when overindulged. And I identify thoughts in which I imagine certain scenarios going perfectly. But it's really difficult because a lot of my daydreaming thoughts are about creative stuff. And not made up characters that I spend time with myself, but characters who I draw and write about just like any illustrator. I've talked to a therapist about the difference between nurturing my creativity and daydreaming in a harmful way, and her advice was useful: "It's wonderful to use your imagination and be creative. Stop when your thoughts start to involve real-life people." I'm still having difficulty understanding how harmful my fictional stories/daydreams are, since I still use them to distract myself. Does anyone else struggle with maladaptive daydreaming?
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