Are you aware of Maladaptive daydreaming? It is a relatively new mental disorder. MD often starts with simple fantasies of escaping reality; this can be defined as daydreaming. This escape into fantasy is pleasurable for the indiv
This condition can include children as young as nine but is more commonly diagnosed in teenagers and adults. Due to the lack of information, there have not been any significant studies on the root cause or treatment.
The purpose of this paper is to outline signs and symptoms for a diagnosis of maladaptive daydreaming.
WHAT IS MALADAPTIVE DAYDREAMING:
Maladaptive daydreamers have an obsession with fantasy characters or fictional worlds. These daydreams are often described as “better than real life.” Individuals will typically keep their dreams entirely secret because the fantasies become an effective coping mechanism to avoid emotional distress.
SYMPTOMS OF A MALADAPTIVE DAYDREAM:
maladaptive daydream symptoms may include:
- facing problems in sleeping at night.
- Dreams which have real-life events.
- Become addicted to daydreaming.
- Facing issues in solving everyday tasks.
- daydreaming lasts longer. (minutes to hours)
- making expressions, rapid movement, or whispering while daydreaming.
THE COMPLICATION OF MALADAPTIVE DAYDREAMING:
people suffering from maladaptive daydreams may face many difficulties in their personal and professional life. Maladaptive daydreaming causes distraction in their work.
They could not focus on their work. They become so addicted to it that they do not enjoy their real life. They start ignoring their friends, family, and work. Their sleeping schedule gets disturbed.
TREATMENT OF MALADAPTIVE DAYDREAMING:
maladaptive daydreaming is a disorder that does not require much treatment. A person can lead an entirely everyday life while suffering from this, or it can be so severe that they cannot function and need treatment. Still, doctors are looking for its treatment.
You can make it better by these two things:
- Take therapy from a therapist. The therapist will help you by reducing your trauma.
- Make your sleep schedule better.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DAYDREAMING AND MALADAPTIVE DAYDREAMING:
daydreaming is a normal part of life. If you imagine things that could happen in reality, then it’s probably regular daydreaming. Maladaptive daydreaming is when you plan your actions, not so much what will happen in the future.
In maladaptive daydreaming, you cannot concentrate on other things as much as regular daydreamers. You remember very little about what happened during the day. You can’t correctly remember events that happened quite a while ago.
WRAPPING IT UP:
Maladaptive daydreaming is a direct result of modern life. We are so far removed from our natural environment. As a result, our minds have nothing to focus on but the present moment. With no stimuli in the present.
Humans have lost touch with what’s going on in their environment. Maladaptive daydreaming is not harmful, but it will affect your relationships and career.
