It's My Get Away...

Its been 3 days i am trying to stop day dreaming..
its kinda hard some time watching TV triggers day dream but i tried to control ..had few relapse but in middle found me day dreaming.. i always felt something is wrong with me .felt suicidal all the time
now i had left my studied i be 25 in 2 months and hadn't achieved a single thing
have no friends.. literally if i look at me i feel disgusting.. i m sick of all this..
most of time i sleep or watch TV.. or eat

I have been daydreaming since childhood but as years go by the worse they get and im almost 20. I have tried to stop and actually have succeeded for about a month or two! Ok I had a few relapses but I didn't do it everyday. How? Mega self-control and prayer. But I think we all can agree that if we get to the point of fed up we can give ourselves a break. But it never truly stops. It's always in the back of my mind and the strong craving to daydream pulls me and sometimes I've cried cause it was so hard not to so I give in. I've been lonely, overwhelmed with life and the ache of anxiety just keeps me locked into my dreams. I have creativity to write and see things at an angle that many do not see and I know dreams are a factor in me having that ability. But to me that is not a pro. I want these dreams gone but I think we all can agree that when your not dreaming its like your mind is silent and I'm never comfortable with that feeling either. I think how can I live with not seeing and hearing all this in my head? I feel like an ordinary person, and I don't know how to live that way since MD sets me apart from everyone else and most importantly it is my escape to this world that I know I will never fit into. Some think MD is for those who had a traumatic childhood but that is not the case with me. I have great parents, amazing friends, and a balanced social life. But it is what I feel inside that no one can comfort (which I'm never really sure what that is) that keeps me going to dream because when I dream my world isn't as bad anymore then when I stop the reality is just as I left it so I must do it again.

i think this day dreaming syndrome was caused due to being lonely for so long. i practically live in my world and i often feel belonged in my dreams. some of my dreams are helping friends and family and changing this world to a better place. nonetheless i dream of being rich, so i could get out of this miserable life and travel the world.
my day dreaming starts practically when I sleep, i guess its because that's the only time I'm alone without any distraction. i try to control it sometimes, although its difficult. I'm also suffering from lucid dreaming which makes the process even harder. i don't want my life to drift away from reality, coz you will become more vulnerable when you had to face an unfortunate incident. Day dreaming is healthy for a creative mind and it will help you research for information and shed light to some new avenues of thinking for remedy.

Hi :)
Like most of the other people here i too ( i think) suffer from this..
i always day dream about being the umm.... alpha-male of sorts :s its hard to type this out but i kinda make up situations in my head where i am the hero for instance if i see a soccer player score a goal on TV, i'd make up a story about how im this player who pulls off some crazy skills and scores a goal and everybody cheers etc etc.. i know it sounds reeeally stupid but i'm really frustrated with my inability to control this and there are many other instances as well, i hope you understand what i'm talking about

how do you think i should go about this? i mean i heard most people with MD have a traumatic past, mine isn't so! i have lovely parents and an amazing bunch of friends
... does that make my case worse ? :s

pleeease help i'm just 18 and i will be going to college in a few months and desperately want to leave this **** behind

Even I have got a knack for writing. Writing poems since very young age. I write excellent articles and speech my teachers highly appreciate me.
I woud love to maintain more contact with you so we can discuss further.

I am new to the group. Please read my story also I am aound your age. Just turned 17. It has been worse for me since few years. It was there since childhood but past years have been a torture. It has taken away my 'present'

Music is a big trigger for me too. In school one of my teachers sometimes plays music whilst we are working which is a bad move for me because I just drift off into my fantasy world, especially if its a male singer. That may sound unusual as I'm a girl that when I daydream my 'character' if you like, is always a boy. I'm not sure if anyone else is the same but maybe its because I'm trying to get as far away from reality as possible.
This post was a really interesting read as my DD is so similar to yours, hope everything is going ok for you.

I have never been formally diagnosed, but found this out via another thread on "when I'm alone I pretend to be someone else" and the alike. It's me to a T, I'm balling my eyes out. It really IS something!



I always did this since childhood, but it hit hard when I started HS. I still do it. I'm 25. TWENTY FIVE. This is hitting 15+ years of never having MY OWN LIFE. Just the one in my head. I've had no real social life, I can't drive, I don't have a job, I've never had a relationship, etc. I have no idea where to begin in trying to stop it. I read of triggers, so that's where I'm going to begin and remember it is a disorder I'm not just 'effed up.'



I wish the medical community knew more. I've seen doctors for ages, most of which never took this seriously because I know the difference between reality and fantasy. This has consumed so much of my life. The memories, when I've tried (years ago) to look in the mirror and say "they don't exist, you aren't who you think you are" I cried hysterically. You become so attached and in love with these amazing creations. It's like, stopping makes me think how nuts I am and how much heartbreak I'll suffer over created-memories and characters.



All seriousness aside, we should all just be writers or actors, lol.



Off the jokes, everyone just take some deep breaths. Someday we'll figure this out. I do enjoy it, but it greatly has limited my life and led me to getting drunk to relive it very manically. I drink way too much and I have no life. I have found cooking and exercising are two things that are easiest to 'avoid it' as I'm very busy mentally and physically. However, listening to music is the absolute worst, as is sitting alone (like I am 24-7, living in a rural area with elderly family).

i have md it makes me feel in control and independent i may daydream at wrong times but my daydreams help me write better nd realize things many people dnt see but i say use it as a gift because theirs so many dreams you can create

I have read this story and so many others over the past few weeks and they are all inspiring. I discovered my problem was MD on 8/15 and have been working so hard to get rid of it. I noticed that in moments of idle time such as walking, driving, and yes listening to music, thats when I am most tempted and slip up. I just keep telling myself no no no, you will not daydream. It isnt a fullproof system, but I am sure it will get easier. I guess I cant quit something I've done for 20 years in just a few weeks. I've also noticed on here mixed reviews how some people want to keep their MD and some hate it. I can see both sides, I am glad it was there in those tough times, but now all the pain and anxietg MD helped me avoid is resurfacing, so no matter what I have to deal with the problems, maybe it is Gods wau of allowing me to wait until I was older to handle them. Whatever the rhyme or reasons, I am so glad I can read up on these stories for motivation and inspiration in my journey!

One thing that's worth investigating is if your MDD is a part of a greater disorder, like ADHD that's me!) or OCD. Mine is much more under control when I'm on meds. Behavioral therapy has made a HUGE dent, helping me control when I'm off them. As a fellow music obssessed person, I hear ya! Getting the right treatment has helped me let this creativity break through rather than thwarted it. Good luck!!



-k

yes daydreaming is stoppable. i could control it for three months or so . once you get rid of it you are less suspectable to get into again. but when i become alone during holidays back into monotony,i started with it again

its my get away too, it started when i was much younger when i had no siblings, i had a bit of an imagination- maybe like you said its to do with being creative, i think it was a way to make lonely days more fun and i suppose its because in your daydreams anything is possible which is what makes it enjoyable for me. i think im obsessed with getting things my own way - lol im not a brat coz i never do get things my own way but in the daydreams i do. maybe thats what md stems from: difficulty in accepting somethings about our lives that we cant change. is this true for everyone?

thing is id really like away to control it, i read somewhere to eliminate your triggers but my triggers include music, movies/tv, books, bad events in my life i feel like thats to many things to eliminate, is there anyway you can simply cut down, not eliminate md just control it? my a - levels are coming up and i cant afford a fail please help!

I have had maladaptive daydreaming for 5 years as far as i remember, I first started off daydreaming about stuff that i really wanted to happen in my life and then i started daydream about me being a character in a 'film' but the film is the story in my head that i'm making up, occassionally I kill one off characters in my story some how.

Hi, Yes, I have that too - daydreaming my way through high school to escape, since I was super shy - I do that now too, even after university just for enjoyment's sake, but now, I wish that I was able to overcome it even a little bit. it's hard because you need something to replace it, but often times there's nothing as controllable as being able to stay in your own mind and contemplate, dream things whenever you want to.

wow I just read your story and I didn't know about this condition, LOL I think I have it too......along with hypochondriac and self diagnosis.

I am 31, and I have just started to read about maladaptive day-dreaming. It is overwhelming for me because I am realizing how much time I have wasted not living in reality and how much it has impacted my work, social life and self-esteem. I have wondered if I have a mental problem, if I am dyslexic, whether I am suicidal, do I have depression? But after reading about this, I relate so much to what people are saying, it i scary.

My family has always laughed at coming into a room to find me staring at the wall. I have been described as being in my own world. Throughout first and secondary school I constantly found myself losing a lot of time staring out the window. I can't remember what I day dreamed about as a child, but my daydreams in my teens were actually quite violent and I relate to having fantasies about escaping from somewhere or rescuing someone. I obsessed about different scenarios and forced myself to fantasize over the same things. I found that I was dealing with my problems with people through excessive fantasizing and day dreaming. I listen to music constantly and have just realised that this is a common trigger for me. I would often lay awake for hours, and find myself just staring. I have let this overtake my life in a way, and I am just realizing how much time I have lost. The last job that I had was quite stressful, I day dreamed a lot and people really noticed but I couldn't stop. I would be caught almost responding to someone or making faces or laughing or crying. I constantly rocked or tapped my foot, touched my hair and my face. I have always done similar things but it was very apparent when I was in this stressful job, more so beacuse other people noticed. I researched diassociating and then came across this.

I can relate these things back to repeated abuse and neglect from my parents when I was young. I remember disconnecting. That was my comfort zone. I know that when I day dream it is excessive and not healthy and not always about good things. I find it hard because, even acknowledging that this isn't good for me nd relating it back to traumatic experiences, I feel it is addictive and almost my normal state of mind. Because my traumatic experiences were when I was three, I feel like I don't know any other way to cope. But I really have to change this as I feel it is having a very negative effect on me and I am wasting my life away living in a fantasy land.

I definitly feel that medication would not help me. I just don't feel like I have a mental disorder, more a behavior problem. It is a learnt coping strategy that is hard to acknowledge. Because it has obviously worked at some stage. And it is a nice place to be in fantasy land where you are in control and can resolve things your way. But the reality can be very different.

I am going to try things like meditation, try to learn to control my thoughts. And concentrate on reality. I am going to keep reading about this because this has really helped me just reading about other peoples stories. Music is a big thing for me, so I am going to try to stop myself from doing things that trigger me to fantasize. Or, when I catch myself deep in a fantasy, try to think about the feelings I am looking for when I create certain scenarios. There are things that I have to let go or deal with somehow. And I have to learn to say what I think at the time. I have to stop doing this because it's not my reality and I feel like day dreaming is taking over my life. And when I snap out of it, things aren't going that great for me. Reading and relting to your stories has really overwhelmed but made me realize that this is something I want to be in control of or channel in a more healthy direction. I hope that if, like me, people think it is having a negative impact on them, they try to do something about it. It is comforting to know that I am not going crazy and that this is something that I can try to help or get help for.

I am 16 almost 17 years old and this started as a young child. I am the only girl and middle child so im pretty much alone alot. Always had my own room ive just been indepentent all my life. I dont think its a big issue for me because i try to make time for this like before bed ,showering, vacuming and any other time im alone. The only time it really becomes a problem is in class testing, and taking notes. I make up characters but they are always adults and in the dream i am an adult too . I guess im just daydreaming of how i would want my life to be in the future. Sometimes it gets out of hand and ill smile or cry or laugh. But i dont beleive this is that much of an issue. :)

If anyone thinks otherwise please comment.

i have maladaptive daydream since i was little girl. still do have MD since then, i found myself daydreaming when i'm stress, sad, depressed, or when i want to sleep. daydream is a beautiful thing. i can't help it when theres a man, with children, in a rural, or tropical where i like to be. i don't have those in real life.

That's just fascinating!

I am 12 and I have MD and I've had it for 4 years and no one knows about

It and I don't want to go to a doctor. I have found my triggers I just feel so close

To it . What can I do?

I had joined this web site only to post this comment.(excuse my poor english -i am from Russia)

My problem is the same , i cant stop daydreaming.

But i think there is a way through wich you can take ..control,, over this mind process.

The key word is ,,control,, .This hapens becouse we are not aware of what actually is hapening inside our minds. In Budhist meditations terminology exists a word wich determines our awareness level , its called ,,mindfulness,, .This is the main idea of all meditations, being aware of your thoughts and being able to concentrate on a certain ,,thing,, as (breathing). Through this meditation practices you get the ability to control your thoughts and many other benefits.

I am absolutely against any medicamentation healing becouse i am sure i does not help actually is makes things even worse (been there , done that)!

I am practicing meditation almost one year and i can say that it realy works. here are some recommended books if you are tired of complaining and have the motivation to start living.

,,Wherever you go there you are,,-Jon Kabat Zinn ,,Mindfulness in plain english,,-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana.

I had joined this web site only to post this comment.(excuse my poor english -i am from Russia)

My problem is the same , i cant stop daydreaming.

But i think there is a way through wich you can take ..control,, over this mind process.

The key word is ,,control,, .This hapens becouse we are not aware of what actually is hapening inside our minds. In Budhist meditations terminology exists a word wich determines our awareness level , its called ,,mindfulness,, .This is the main idea of all meditations, being aware of your thoughts and being able to concentrate on a certain ,,thing,, as (breathing). Through this meditation practices you get the ability to control your thoughts and many other benefits.

I am absolutely against any medicamentation healing becouse i am sure i does not help actually is makes things even worse (been there , done that)!

I am practicing meditation almost one year and i can say that it realy works. here are some recommended books if you are tired of complaining and have the motivation to start living.

,,Wherever you go there you are,,-Jon Kabat Zinn ,,Mindfulness in plain english,,-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana.

i might be suffering from MD. Does it needs medical attention? or am I suffering from AvPD ? My case is pretty much like yours. Just that , mine ain't coz of abuse etc.. i started when it was 6.

Im not exactly sure. Are you just her in your daydreams or do you pretend to be her in real life?

well, maybe i just haven't met her yet, i think about getting a counselor, but that probably won't even work. but sometimes i pretend i'm her is that a split personaltity or is it still daydreaming.

This 8 year old may just be a character that you've created in your mind. Ive done this many times. There is one character that is every single daydream I have. I didnt make her up tho. Shes someone that really exsists. Ive never met her but when I saw her she just seemed like the perfect person for my stories I guess.

I thik i may have excessive daydreaming, when i go to sleep i just daydream with my eyes open and when i'm alone i'm always daydreaming i can't really control it. When i was little i had a ruff life i was wondering if that is why i daydream constantly, i daydream of an 8 yr old who i don't even know, but she's in every daydream of mine. i'v been doing this for 7yrs, i don't know if it could be daydreaming or a split personality.

MD is a very hard thing to over come. Unfortunately its still pretty new and most of the stuff that we know about it are from personal accounts from people who suffer from it. In fact most doctors have never even heard of MD.The good thing is that there are a lot more people coming out with there condition and talking about it. One of the best things right now is to know that you are not alone. There are so many people out there who suffer from this and there are a lot of websites to read up about it that I will send you the links for. One of the first things to do is to completely make sure that it is MD that you are dealing with and not something else like depression or anxiety. If it is in fact MD then there are somethings that you can do to try to keep yourself from daydreaming. A lot of people try to stay busy on something that they really need to put all their attention on so their mind can't wonder. Second there are things that you should try to avoid. Triggers like music, television, the computer, or video games etc... They can all send you into a daydreaming frenzy. Of course everyone has their own triggers so you need to find out what yours are and try to avoid them. You said you were having a hard time sleeping and I completely understand. You can't avoid sleeping. Ever since I was a child I haven't been able to sleep on a schedule. I lay in bed for hours and hours and daydream even when I know I have to be up at a certain time. It never seems like it to me tho. 3 hours can feel like 10 minutes. You can try to take something to make you sleep for a short period of time but there is no permanent fix. I wouldn't recommend anything long term until you talk to your doctor about not being able to sleep. The only thing that has ever worked for me to be able to fall asleep fast is exhaustion. Not just being really tired but wearing my body and mind out completely but that isn't good for your body or mind and can be very dangerous to more then your health. Physical exercise can help sometimes. The best thing I can do is to tell you to look at these other websites and talk to other people with MD and ask them what they do to control it. There are medications that arn't meant for MD but do help the with daydreaming. I have read about certain people using antidepressants to help control their MD. Of course talk to your doctor before starting any medications and see what his/her oppinion is. Since most doctors dont know much about MD then you might want to print stuff up about it and tell him why you think its MD and not depression or something else. I would read more about MD first if I were you and I am sorry that I couldn't help more but the websites I gave you I hope will help. Good luck with your MD and if you ever want to tell someone your story I would love to hear it. It helps me to learn about others and when and why they started daydreaming. What they daydream about and compare things. It is very nice to find someone that you have things in common with when it comes to this. http://wildminds.ning.com/http://daydreamingdisorder.webs.com/http://www.scribd.com/doc/20700187/Daydreamers-Anonymous-Prelim-Findings http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/maladaptivedaydreamers/

I did not know about MD, till I googled for ways to stop daydreaming. I think, I'm suffering from MD. Since the last 4 months, have been finding it hard to sleep. I did not link my insomnia to compulsive day dreaming. Is there anything that I can do to get over this. I'm sleep walking through my life right now. Please help.