Maladaptive Daydreaming: When Your Mind Becomes Your Favorite Escape

Have you ever been in the middle of something, and suddenly you are far away? Maybe you were washing the dishes, maybe you were at the computer doing your work or writing your thesis… but suddenly your eye caught on a point and without realizing it, your mind went somewhere else. In that moment, it’s like you’re not here. As if your body is in this room, but your mind is in a completely different story.

It’s actually very human and common. Sometimes when the mind is tired, bored, or emotionally challenged, it looks for a place to escape. And sometimes that place is a fantasy world. Just like children’s play fantasies… but with one important difference. Children often take their imagination outside through toys, drawings, and role-play. The story is in front of our eyes. We see where it begins and where it ends. In adults, this fantasy world is often silent. From the outside, the person only looks absent-minded. But inside the head, there is a much more detailed universe, with characters, dialogues, scenes, alternative lives, and sometimes even scenarios played over and over again… And sometimes this inner world can become so powerful and attractive that it overrides real life.

But for some people, this escape is not a short break. It can turn into a long-lasting habit that is difficult to control and starts to interfere with daily life. At this point, ordinary daydreaming approaches what we call “maladaptive daydreaming”. Maladaptive daydreaming is an unhealthy behavior that is characterized by excessive, intense, and vivid daydreaming, which can interfere with the individual’s day-to-day responsibilities. While it often starts as a way for people to cope with mental health problems by escaping their realities through fantasy, maladaptive daydreaming can often lead to worse problems. But how do you know your daydreaming is problematic or not? In this therapy sketch, we will explore the concept of maladaptive daydreaming.

When Does Daydreaming Become Maladaptive?

Daydreaming, in and of itself, is a neutral behavior that can have many positive impacts on an individual’s well-being. When done appropriately, daydreaming can provide a mental break from stress, enhance creativity, and boost problem-solving abilities. Daydreaming can become maladaptive when it becomes too intense to control or “snap out of it”, when it takes so much time that it interrupts the individual’s daily life, when it causes an increased emotional distress, or when used to escape or avoid problems.

What Are Common Signs of Maladaptive Daydreaming?

Maladaptive daydreams are intense and vivid, and it can be difficult to know when we are doing them or to distinguish them from adaptive coping. Key signs that daydreaming is maladaptive include:

Dreams are vividly detailed, often including plots and characters.
Dreams are compulsive and can be triggered by stimuli such as music, environments, or situations.
Dreams interrupt sleep due to an overactive imagination.
Dreams are accompanied by repetitive movement such as pacing, fidgeting, or tapping.
Dreams can last for long durations.
Dreams can cause feelings of detachment from reality and surroundings.
Dreams interfere with chores, work, or responsibilities.

How Does Maladaptive Daydreaming Affect Me?

While there is no formal diagnosis for maladaptive daydreaming, it is still an unhealthy compulsive behavior that can have negative impacts on our wellbeing and our relationships. Prolonged and intense daydreaming can lead to exacerbated mental health problems, such as:

Functional impairment due to neglecting personal responsibilities, such as work or household chores, which can lead to poor performance or a messy home.
Loneliness or isolation due to choosing fantasy over real relationships.
Exacerbated mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression, due to avoiding problems rather than coping with them.
Cognitive impairment due to poor sleeping habits can impact memory, energy, and other functioning.
Behavioral addiction is caused by a strong emotional attachment to fantasy.

How to Overcome Maladaptive Daydreaming?

Because maladaptive daydreaming can be compulsive, addictive, and easily accessible, it can be a challenge to overcome. With the proper tools and guidance, however, it can become very manageable. Below are some skills you can practice now to manage compulsory daydreaming:

Take inventory of when stimuli trigger daydreams. These can be things like certain music, shows, environments, people, or even intrusive thoughts. Once triggers are identified, strategize how to remove or reduce exposure to these triggers.
Set boundaries on how much time is spent daydreaming and where the daydreaming occurs.
Remain active and busy. The more time someone is immersed in the real world, spending time with friends, doing hobbies, or working out, the less time they can spend on daydreaming.
Practice better sleep habits to enhance the quality of rest. This might mean developing a night ritual, meditating, or practicing relaxation techniques before bed.
Engage in grounding exercises when feeling triggered as opposed to compulsive daydreaming.
Seek help from a mental health professional if problematic daydreaming persists or if they continue to interfere with life.

Takeaways

Daydreaming behavior in which an individual uses imagination to escape into fantasy.
When daydreaming is done appropriately (i.e., briefly and intentionally), it can relieve stress and increase the individual’s creativity and problem-solving.
When daydreaming becomes compulsory and is used to avoid real-life problems, it can become unhealthy and create bigger problems for people later.

References

Schimmenti, A., Somer, E., & Regis, M. (2019). Maladaptive daydreaming: Towards a nosological definition. Annales Médico-Psychologiques, Revue Psychiatrique, 177(9), 865–874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amp.2019.08.014
Pietkiewicz, I. J., Nęcki, S., Bańbura, A., & Tomalski, R. (2018). Maladaptive daydreaming as a new form of behavioral addiction. Journal of behavioral addictions, 7(3), 838–843. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.95

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This page is also part of the Roamers Therapy Glossary; a collection of mental-health related definitions that are written by our therapists.

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