Maladaptive Daydreaming
- Rafaela Santo
- Nov 14, 2021
- 5 min read
What if you had the capacity to create your own world?
Your self-designed universe where everything could go exactly how you wanted to.
Where you could say or do anything you wanted with no real consequences.
Would you ever choose to leave?
This is the dilemma maladaptive daydreamers seem to face.
Professor of clinical psychology Eli Somer introduced the concept of Maladaptive Daydreaming in 2002. [1]
After that, a characteristic that psychologists categorized as an indicator of dissociation started to have its own definition. In 2016 investigators were able to validate this phenomenon and put together an assessment instrument to measure maladaptive daydreaming. [9] In 2017, researchers also created a proposed diagnostic criteria for Daydreaming Disorder. [10]
Somer described maladaptive daydreaming as an intensive fantasy state that replaces human interaction, interfering negatively with a person´s life. [1] He refers to maladaptive daydreaming as a maladaptive response to a personality trait he calls immersive daydream.
An ability where one is capable of immersing oneself in a deep fantasy state and play out stories in his/her head. Immersive daydreaming is usually descried as something very rewarding that feels extremely good. [2]
So, as everything that feels extremely good, it seems to have a propensity to become addictive.
As the person passes throught traumatic experiences or learns the weight of their responsibilities and is forced to face life’s problems, the trait seems to develop into a maladaptive defence mechanism. [2, 3, 6]
This defence tends to reflect a deeper issue, it represents an easy way to escape reality when it becomes too difficult to handle.
As such, it’s not surprising that maladaptive daydreaming is often associated with other disorders, namely, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and obsessive-compulsive or related disorders. [4]
In recent studies, investigators found that the stories created by maladaptive daydreamers could vary. They could be as simple as to plan a future event or as complex as creating specific characters and develop intricate plot lines. Outside of the maladaptive daydreamer’s heads there were also visible behavioural signs, the fantasies could be accompanied with physical behaviours and vocalizations while daydreaming. [5]
It was found that maladaptive daydreamers could re-enact behaviors featured in the fantasies , playing out the scenes in real life. [6]
Maladaptive day dreaming becomes a problem to the individual when by living within their own fantasy world they neglect reality. It breaks the necessary connection between the world that exists inside our heads and the real world outside, the way we connect with others and express ourselves.
The fantasies often represent a life the individuals wish they were living. By living within their own minds the daydreamers are separating themselves from who they actually are. Dissociating from their fears, problems, insecurities and overall emotions. [7]
In this fantasy, their life is safe, they have control over everything, they cannot be broken or disappointed.
The fantasies played out in their minds serve as reminders of how it feels to be free and alive.
Letting go of the made up world and personality they develop in their mind, can be extremely difficult. For it can be faced as giving up a part of their identity and a world that sometimes feels more real than reality itself. [2]
It’s still unknown how much of the experience the person can consciously control, individuals often describe that their daydreaming has addictive or compulsory qualities. [8]
A great example of maladaptive daydream is found in the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (be aware, spoilers ahead). Walter exists in two worlds: the conformed person he is in reality and the person he wants to be, which only exists in his mind.
He ends up embarking on an epic journey and by facing his fears he finds a way to become the person he wants to be. Having started to live the life he wants, he no longer feels the necessity to inhabit his dream world.
You may be left wandering, in a real life scenario, how does one get out of the fantasy world and into the real one?
Several studies are being developed to find an answer to this question.
For now, the answer seems to be in finding the necessary courage to get out of the safety one’s mind space grants, one step at the time.
Having the courage to become the person he/she wants to be.
Some methods that can be useful to fight maladaptive daydreaming are:
Focussing and staying in the present moment;
Using grounding technics;
Forcing oneself to step out of the daydream when it begins;
Avoid triggers that lead to dissociation (anything that can prompt the daydreams, for example music);
Managing expectations;
Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals as motivation;
Being able to express oneself and one´s emotions freely;
Creating strategies to deal with fear;
Facing fears and learning to step out of one´s comfort zone;
Acting accordingly to the person one wants to be and taking control;
Finding meaning in one's experiences;
It’s important to consider that the trait in itself (immersive daydreaming) it’s not pathological. In fact, it could even be consider a talent that could be in the root of many of the literary treasures we see in libraries everywhere, for it allows an in-depth experience of imagination.
It becomes pathological when the individual starts using it in a deregulated way to avoid hurt. Much like being on social media, drinking alcohol or playing videogames. None of this behaviours are inherently bad or addictive, but they can become pathological if we use them excessively and in inappropriate situations to avoid emotion. Part of having a healthy mind is about finding balance and knowing how to regulate our emotions in a healthy way.
Bibliography:
[1] Somer, E. (2002). Maladaptive daydreaming: A qualitative inquiry. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 32, 197–212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/ A:1020597026919.
[2] Somer, E. (18 de 12 de 2020). Eli Somer talks with "Maladaptive Daydreaming Italia". (M. D. Italia, Entrevistador)
[3] Schimmenti, A., Somer, E., & Regis, M. (2019, November). Maladaptive daydreaming: towards a nosological definition. In Annales Médico-psychologiques, revue psychiatrique (Vol. 177, No. 9, pp. 865-874). Elsevier Masson.
[4] Somer, E., Soffer-Dudek, N., & Ross, C. A. (2017). The comorbidity of daydreaming disorder (maladaptive daydreaming). The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 205(7), 525-530.
[5] Bigelsen, J., Lehrfeld, J. M., Jopp, D. S., & Somer, E. (2016). Maladaptive daydreaming: Evidence for an under-researched mental health disorder. Consciousness and cognition, 42, 254-266.
[6] Somer, E., Abu-Rayya, H. M., & Brenner, R. (2021). Childhood trauma and maladaptive daydreaming: fantasy functions and themes in a multi-country sample. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 22(3), 288-303.
[7] Soffer-Dudek, N., & Somer, E. (2018). Trapped in a daydream: Daily elevations in maladaptive daydreaming are associated with daily psychopathological symptoms. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9, 194.
[8] Somer, E., & Herscu, O. (2017). Childhood Trauma, Social Anxiety, Absorption and Fantasy Dependence: Two Potential Mediated Pathways to Maladaptive Daydreaming. J Addict Behav Ther Rehabil 6: 3. of, 5, 2.
[9] 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.
[10] Somer, E., Soffer-Dudek, N., Ross, C. A., & Halpern, N. (2017). Maladaptive daydreaming: Proposed diagnostic criteria and their assessment with a structured clinical interview. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4(2), 176.
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