- Do you experience vivid, detailed, narrative daydreams, as if you have a movie playing in your head?
- Do you enjoy imagining scenarios that will never happen in real life?
- Have you ever invented fictional characters and then become emotionally attached to them?
- Could you stay focussed on your imaginary world for hours at a time?
- Do you return to the same places or themes in your daydreams over and over again?
- Do you have a life inside your head that’s almost as important to you as your real one?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, you’re more than likely an immersive daydreamer. Immersive daydreaming is a trait that some people have. It means your mind works a little differently from other people’s. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on how you use it. If you love your daydreaming, check out some of my popular immersive daydreaming posts below. But if your daydreaming gets in the way of you living your real life, scroll to the next section.
Popular immersive-daydreaming articles
Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere
CARL SAGAN
Now answer these questions:
- Is it difficult to focus because your mind keeps getting pulled into a daydream?
- Do you neglect work or social obligations because you’d rather be daydreaming?
- Do you think you’re a failure or a loser because you keep imagining things that will never happen?
- Are you worried that you’ll never find a romantic partner because no-one will ever be as perfect as the fictional character you’re dating in your head?
- Have you tried, over and over again, to stop daydreaming but always find yourself going back to it?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, you might have maladaptive daydreaming disorder. Maladaptive daydreaming is what happens when immersive daydreaming gets out of control and gets in the way of real life. It usually starts as an unhealthy coping mechanism, but it can progress to a dangerous addiction. And it’s incredibly difficult to overcome an addiction to your own thoughts.
The good news is that healing from maladaptive daydreaming disorder is possible. To begin to understand how, check out the popular maladaptive daydreaming posts below, or browse the blog.
Popular maladaptive-daydreaming articles
We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world.
GABOR MATE
My name is Kyla. I’m a life-long immersive daydreamer who has healed from maladaptive daydreaming several times. Through this blog, I share my thoughts on how best to overcome maladaptive daydreaming and how to use the power of immersive daydreaming to live a real life that’s almost as fantastic as the one in your head.
So grab yourself a drink, settle down somewhere comfortable, and start reading the blog…