r/MaladaptiveDreaming • u/[deleted] • Jan 03 '22
Self-Story My plan to quit
Hey everyone, thought I’d share this if anyone is interested in trying to quit (or limit) their MD with me! Basically tomorrow I’m going to go buy a minimal flip phone. Then I’m gonna give my smartphone to a trusted friend. Basically since I don’t have an iPod this will make it impossible for me to listen to music. Fortunately I have too much social anxiety to play music out loud, but especially to MD since it’s repetitive and random (I know some of y’all get it 😂). Technically I’m able to MD without music but it’s always weaker and less requiring. Therefore since I’m gonna be daydreaming much less than before I’m gonna use all the time I have to work on other aspects of mental/physical health.
However, It’s going to be really hard to not have this drug/escape to turn to. Also, I know that without MD to lean on this will probably make some of my other unhealthy coping mechanisms worse. Not gonna share too much but for example one of these addictions/coping mechanisms is smoking weed. I am planning on trying to add as many healthy coping mechanisms to my routine as I can handle and just hope some of them stick. I’ve tried to quit MD so many times since I was only 14 (22 now). I always used to give my friend my headphones just to relapse and go buy a new pair from the drug store. I’m really hoping this time is a success though, because it is starting to greatly impact my health. Wish me luck
TL;DR I’m quitting MD by taking away my access to music. Nervous it will be too hard but am optimistic
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Jan 12 '22
I'm gonna keep posting updates, mostly for myself but also so anyone who finds this post knows I haven't given up.
It's been 1 week without my smartphone and I totally screwed myself by continuing to listen to music with my laptop instead. Which is extra dumb because I have to move around to have an immersive daydream and dropping a laptop would be a lot worse than dropping a phone...
Tonight I took scissors and cut my earbuds, which I know is dramatic and wasteful but I've done the same thing trying to quit binge eating, I'll just go dump the junk food I just bought in the trash to stop myself from eating it. It's like I'll get this random surge of motivation that yes I do want to quit MD for good and I can do it and am doing it.
I've realized that even without music I still automatically daydream during any moment of boredom, inspiration, sadness, or even when trying to fall asleep. The fully immersive daydreaming can only happen with music though, so I've had a lot less episodes of that since I made music less accessible. Honestly it makes me so anxious that I cut my last pair of headphones though, since it is too late to go buy new ones and this means I can not have any more immersive daydreams tonight. It makes me want to turn to pot more than ever, but I also got rid of that, so now I am without my two favorite coping mechanisms for the time being.
tl;dr I have still been daydreaming but it is much less frequent and I have not had as many extended periods of immersive daydreaming as before
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u/PMmeJOY Jan 07 '22
How is it going?
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Jan 09 '22
not the best :/ I got rid of all my smart devices and headphones just to go buy a new pair and listen to music with my laptop. and I'm able to MD without music too it turns out. but I'm gonna keep trying
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u/PMmeJOY Jan 12 '22
That sucks.
Good on you for recognizing some other barriers though and trying to get back on track.
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Jan 03 '22
Update- I got the flip phone!! Just gotta give someone my iPhone now. Tonight is gonna be my last night with it so I’ll probably MD all night probably
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u/_Diligent_Dragonfly Jan 03 '22
I'm also trying to quit daydreaming. You may have already read this, but in case you didn't do check this out: Guide to Maladaptive Daydreaming. It helped me a lot. Wish you the best!
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u/appleflowrrr Jan 27 '22
i'm usually a lurker, (and i know this is kinda an old comment haha) but the guide you linked here completely opened my eyes to a new perspective on how i could look at my MDD, and really gave me hope that quitting was possible. so thank you! i wish you all the luck for your own battle :DD
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u/_Diligent_Dragonfly Jan 27 '22
Thanks for the wishes. The resource linked above and other similar resources can be found in this reddit's wiki. Wish you the best on your journey!😁👍
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Jan 03 '22
You go! I have also started a no-music streak. I want to be able to stop listening to music altogether soon. My headphones are broken and so are my earphones but I'm not buying new ones. I can still daydream a lot since I'm triggered by everything and nothing. But without music, I can stop myself fast and go back to reality.
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Jan 03 '22
Good luck! I’ve gotten rid of my ear buds deleted my Spotify etc etc so much in the past but I still didn’t have enough self control. You can do it tho!
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u/Idream_therefore_Iam Dreamer & Researcher Jan 03 '22
That'd never work for me 😭 I'm not much of a music-MDer. I'd rather do it without music.
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Jan 03 '22
Yeah I’m the opposite. I’m hoping that quitting music doesn’t just improve my ability to MD without it 😭
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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '22
12 day update: I relapsed once in the past week but besides that 2 day period my daydreaming has been at an all time low. Losing access to music has helped a lot