Highlights
- Maladaptive daydreaming means daydreaming becomes so excessive that it gets in the way of day-to-day life.
- Although maladaptive daydreaming isn’t a mental health condition, it’s associated with other conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- With support and treatment, you can overcome maladaptive daydreaming and learn how to be more present in your real life.
Daydreaming, in and of itself, isn’t always maladaptive. Most of us — perhaps even all of us — have daydreamed at least once in our lives, allowing our minds to wander on fantasies or imagined scenarios. For example, you might have daydreamed about a crush or about being a billionaire.
Most of the time, daydreaming is harmless, but it may be destructive in some cases; let’s learn more about that.
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What Is Maladaptive Daydreaming?
We use the term “maladaptive” when describing a behavior that isn’t helpful and doesn’t help you adapt to your environment in healthy ways.
So
Maladaptive daydreaming isn’t a mental health diagnosis, nor is it an officially recognized symptom of any mental health condition in particular. But it’s linked to several different mental health conditions; for example, if you live with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), you may be more prone to it.
Symptoms of Maladaptive Daydreaming
Some common signs of maladaptive daydreaming include:
- Spending excessive time daydreaming: You might find yourself lost in daydreams for hours, which makes it hard to focus on real-life tasks.
- Struggling to control daydreaming: Even when you try to stop, you find it difficult to pull yourself out of a daydream.
- Daydreaming interferes with daily life: You might miss deadlines, lose track of conversations, or neglect responsibilities because of excessive daydreaming.
- Creating detailed, complex fantasy worlds: Your daydreams might be extremely vivid, with elaborate characters and plots that feel more engaging than reality.
- Using daydreaming as an escape: You might turn to daydreaming as a way to avoid stress, loneliness, or real-life challenges.
- Feeling frustrated or guilty about daydreaming: Even though you enjoy your daydreams, you may also feel like they’re taking over your life or making you less productive.
- Making facial expressions, gestures, or movements while daydreaming: Some people find themselves whispering, pacing, or physically acting out parts of their imagined scenarios.
- Struggling with sleep or concentration: Excessive daydreaming can make it hard to fall asleep, stay present in conversations, or focus on tasks that require attention.
- Feeling more connected to daydreams than real life: You might prefer your imagined world over real-world interactions, which makes it difficult to maintain relationships.
Is Maladaptive Daydreaming Bad?
Maladaptive daydreaming is, by definition, unhealthy. It doesn’t help you cope with stressors; on the contrary, it gets in the way of healthy coping.
Some potential negative effects of maladaptive daydreaming include:
- It can take up so much of your time that it interferes with daily responsibilities, like work, school, or relationships.
- You might struggle to stay present, zoning out during conversations or missing important details in real life.
- Some people find that it disrupts their sleep — staying up late to keep daydreaming or having trouble shutting their mind off at night.
- Instead of coping with stress in a productive way, you might use daydreaming to avoid dealing with real-world challenges or emotions.
- It can make you feel more isolated. If your fantasy world feels more appealing than real life, you may start withdrawing from social interactions.
- Studies have found that maladaptive daydreaming is linked to depression, anxiety, and ADHD. We need more research to say for sure, but it’s possible that maladaptive daydreaming could make these conditions worse.
- Research also shows that people who are prone to maladaptive daydreaming are at a
higher risk for suicidal thoughts [2*] . - Some people feel like they’ve lost control over their own thoughts. Even if you want to stop daydreaming, you may feel powerless to do so.
- It can be dangerous in certain situations, like when driving, operating machinery, or doing anything that requires focus. Getting lost in a daydream while behind the wheel, for example, can put your safety — and the safety of others — at risk.
Normal Daydreaming vs. Maladaptive Daydreaming
Regular daydreaming is a normal, and often necessary, part of the human experience. We all daydream from time to time, and it can be a way of being creative or using your imagination. But maladaptive constant daydreaming is far more extreme.
The main difference is that maladaptive daydreaming causes emotional distress. This isn’t a harmless fantasizing session — such daydreams are so immersive that they get in the way of your day-to-day functioning. Some research links maladaptive daydreaming to dissociation, which is another psychological phenomenon in which people can become disconnected from reality. Both dissociation and maladaptive daydreaming are highly linked to trauma.
Example of Maladaptive Daydreaming
Let’s take one example of someone daydreaming in a healthy way and another person using daydreams as an escape.
This first daydreamer enjoys imagining fame and fortune. When their boss walks in and asks them to complete an important task, they easily “snap out of” the daydream. That person is able to finish the rest of their tasks and doesn’t daydream again until, for example, relaxing at home in the evening.
The second daydreamer is so immersed in a fantasy that they may even make outward noises or facial expressions as they navigate situations and conversations in the daydream. When that person’s boss asks them to complete a task, they may even feel extremely irritated. Instead of stopping daydreaming to finish the task, they return to fantasies as soon as the boss leaves, continue to daydream the rest of the day, and neglect responsibilities. That person feels upset whenever there is the need to focus on real problems.
This is an example of maladaptive daydreaming that can cause significant distress.
Is There a Test for Maladaptive Daydreaming?
Researchers have created the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16), which is a clinical instrument that can be used to measure maladaptive daydreaming. It includes 16 questions, which you rate according to how much each statement or question applies to you (anywhere between 0% to 100%).
Here are the 16 questions included in the MDS-16. Read through them and choose between 0% and 100% depending on how strongly each of these statements apply to you.
Please note that this isn’t a diagnostic tool. Since maladaptive daydreaming isn’t a mental health condition, you can’t be diagnosed with it.
However, if you felt that these statements relate to you most of the time, then your daydream may fall within the range of being “maladaptive” — and you could benefit from talking to a mental health professional. They may assess your mental health to determine if you have another mental health condition associated with high distractibility, such as ADHD. With MEDvidi’s telehealth services, you can connect with a healthcare professional online for ADHD and other mental health concerns, receiving a comprehensive evaluation and a personalized treatment plan — all from the comfort of your home.
Causes of Maladaptive Daydreaming
Researchers have studied daydreaming (both adaptive and maladaptive), and believe it’s caused by neural networks that activate when our brains are otherwise in a state of rest. But maladaptive daydreaming often happens in response to a stressful event. Like dissociative episodes, it could be our brains’ way of trying to cope with anxiety or trauma — but, like all maladaptive coping mechanisms, it doesn’t really work.
Although maladaptive daydreaming isn’t a mental health condition — nor is it an officially recognized symptom of one — it can also be caused by different mental health conditions.
Maladaptive Daydreaming and ADHD
ADHD is a type of neurodevelopmental condition that’s characterized by a difficulty with managing focus and energy levels. Maladaptive daydreaming and ADHD are closely linked; one study found that
Although ADHD and maladaptive daydreaming are different, people with ADHD could be more vulnerable to maladaptive daydreaming because they already have a difficult time keeping their focus on the task at hand. Often, daydreaming is related to the inattentive type of ADHD.
Maladaptive Daydreaming and OCD
In the same study, over 50% of maladaptive daydreamers also had symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is a mental health condition that’s characterized by intrusive thoughts that cause extreme distress, and repetitive or ritualistic behaviors.
People with OCD could engage in maladaptive daydreaming for many reasons. For some, it could be the only time when they can be free from the stress and anxiety that they constantly face. Others might engage in maladaptive daydreaming as a compulsive behavior — like daydreaming “positive” scenarios as an attempt to prevent their fears from coming true.
Research has found that people are
Maladaptive Daydreaming and PTSD
Maladaptive daydreaming also is related to trauma and PTSD. In one study, a significant portion of patients in a psychiatric unit who had experienced childhood trauma also experienced maladaptive daydreaming. Specifically, childhood abuse and trauma
Maladaptive daydreaming could be a form of dissociation for trauma survivors — a way to escape reality.
How to Stop Maladaptive Daydreaming
If you think daydreaming has become maladaptive for you, then there are ways to try to stop.
Treat Associated Mental Health Disorders
Even though maladaptive daydreaming isn’t an official symptom of any mental health disorder, it can be associated with some. So, first, it’s important to diagnose and address any underlying conditions that could be contributing to maladaptive daydreaming. It’s unlikely for symptoms to go away on their own, and with the right treatment and support, you can see improvement.
Try Journaling
Journaling can also help you become more aware of the time you spend daydreaming and your triggers. But make sure you don’t turn journaling into another form of maladaptive daydreaming or rumination — for example, by only writing about the content of your daydreams. Instead, try journaling about the dreams that you have for your real life, and how you could spend your time if you were able to stop daydreaming.
Watch Out for Triggers
Pay attention to the situations that trigger you to daydream. Is it when you’re in certain places that remind you of traumatic events? Is it when you’re having heightened OCD or anxiety symptoms? Are you more likely to daydream maladaptively when you’re bored or faced with repetitive, tedious tasks?
You may not be able to avoid these triggers (and it may not even be healthy to try to avoid them), but by being more aware of them, you can make a plan for how to face them without resorting to unhealthy coping methods like daydreaming.
Get Better Sleep
Maladaptive daydreaming could be linked to sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality, although we need more research to be able to say for sure. In any case, it’s never a bad idea to try to improve your sleep. It can also help improve symptoms of other conditions, including anxiety and depression.
You can start with practicing good sleep hygiene habits. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. Make sure your sleeping environment is cool, dark, and quiet. Avoid screen time, as well as caffeine, large meals, and exercise, an hour or two before going to bed to help your body wind down. Establishing these habits can help you get the recommended 7 to 9 hours of restful sleep every night, which might help reduce maladaptive daydreaming during the day.
Practice Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness is the practice of staying aware of every present moment. It’s now used in mainstream medicine to treat a wide range of health conditions, including anxiety and chronic pain. By learning how to practice mindfulness, you can train yourself to become more grounded in the present instead of getting lost in maladaptive daydreams.
Many beginners start by practicing mindfulness of the breath. Sit quietly. As you inhale, notice your breath as you breathe in and then as you breathe out. There’s no need to try to change your breath to be deeper or slower; start by just paying attention to it.
Self-Monitor
Once you’ve strengthened your skill of mindfulness, you can practice self-monitoring, noticing how often you go into maladaptive daydreaming. This can help you become more aware of your triggers, as well as bring awareness to both yourself and others about how much time you’re actually spending lost in a daydream.
When to Seek Help
If you’ve tried these tips and still can’t stop daydreaming, or if your maladaptive daydreaming is related to an underlying mental health condition, then it may be best to seek professional support. A healthcare provider can help you explore what maladaptive daydreaming has meant for you, how it holds you back, and how to move forward.
Treatment for maladaptive daydreaming, and associated mental health conditions, can combine therapy and medication:
- Therapy can help you cope with stressful life events through healthier habits and reframe anxious thoughts that may lead you to want an escape.
- Medication can address underlying conditions, like ADHD, that might be contributing to maladaptive daydreaming.
Key Takeaways
While there is not always a “cure” for maladaptive daydreaming, mental health treatment can help. If you’ve found yourself constantly daydreaming to the point where it’s getting in the way of your day-to-day life, then it’s worth speaking to a healthcare professional about how you might overcome these habits and learn how to be more present in your real life.
Through MEDVidi, you can connect with a licensed medical provider as soon as within 24 hours, book an appointment to get personalized help.
FAQ
Can maladaptive daydreaming lead to schizophrenia?
Is daydreaming dissociation?
Is maladaptive daydreaming dangerous?
Is making up fake scenarios in your head disorder?
Does maladaptive daydreaming cause memory loss?
Daydreaming, in general,
