The ability to daydream so vividly that they can experience their presence in the imaginary environment of their creation may indicate a psychiatric condition called maladaptive daydreaming, or MD. However, this is still an evolving area of research, and is yet to be formally recognized as a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.
Maladaptive Daydreaming
This is a form of dissociating oneself from the real world, and getting absorbed into fantasies and mental imagery comprising vivid alternative universes, usually involving elaborate scenarios – that the individual prefers over reality.
- People suffering from this condition consider it a disorder because it often interferes with the individuals’ social, academic, or professional life, especially so, if they begin to replace human interactions with fantasy.
Maladaptive daydreaming can be treated
Experts believe that cognitive behavioral therapy, or talk-therapy that helps people manage their day-to-day problems by changing the way they think and behave, can address their compulsive need to slip into their imagination
- In terms of medication, one study found that fluvoxamine, a drug commonly used to treat OCD, can help control MD
What are the symptoms of maladaptive daydreaming?
In the absence of DSM-5 criteria for its diagnosis, there is Somer’s Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS) to help determine whether an individual is experiencing MD
- MDS is a 14-point scale that rates five primary characteristics of the condition
- Content and quality (detail) of dreams; Individual’s ability to control their dreams and/or the compulsion to dream
- Amount of distress caused by day dreaminging
- Individual’s perceived benefits of day dreaming
- Extent of interference of day-dreaming with the individual’s ability to carry out daily activities
What causes maladaptive daydreaming?
MD is a coping mechanism in response to trauma, abuse, or loneliness
- Sufferers create a complex imaginary world for them to escape into in times of distress, loneliness, or even helplessness in real life
- It is an escapist method of avoiding real interactions with families, friends, and colleagues
