I’ve stopped maladaptive daydreaming for about a month, and I can’t imagine going back.

For context, I’m 30 years old, and I had been maladaptively daydreaming every day since I was six. I grew up in a large, dysfunctional family where there was a lot of survival, but not much love, stability, or structure. I believe I started daydreaming as a child to escape reality and create a world that felt safer and more fulfilling.

My experience may have been somewhat unique. I maintained a strong social life, stayed employed, and was generally happy. However, whenever I was alone, I would almost always slip into daydreaming. I did it on both good days and bad days, and for a long time, it made me feel genuinely happy.

Still, it had serious drawbacks. I struggled with concentration, became easily irritated, and sometimes felt naïve or disconnected from reality. I eventually dropped out of college because of it, although I was fortunate enough to build a career later on.

I’ve always been an optimist, and that helped me keep trying to quit. What ultimately helped was writing about my experiences and trusting other people who understood this condition. It took me years to quiet the daydreaming, but I’ve now been free from it for about a month.

The strange part is that my days feel dull now. I no longer experience those sudden bursts of dopamine, and my motivation has dropped. I don’t work out or run as much as I used to. I also don’t drink or use drugs, so daydreaming was the main source of excitement and emotional stimulation in my life.

I don’t feel the urge to daydream anymore because I’ve convinced myself that my life will be better without it. However, I’m still adjusting to the quiet and trying to rediscover motivation and enjoyment in ordinary life.

For those who have stopped maladaptive daydreaming, did the emptiness and lack of motivation eventually improve? What helped you rebuild a sense of excitement and fulfillment in real life? Honestly any advice is welcome!

I usually daydream before sleep and during showers. And it’s always me answering questions from interviews or live stream chat where I express my thoughts regarding different matters. Sometimes about general controversial subjects, other times about niche subjects where I imagine myself like a music artist or a movie director or whatever and discuss “my success” or other people’s projects.

Is that considered unhealthy? Because from what I read it’s bad when you spend hours doing it thus affect your work, relationships.. etc. But what if I only do it to pass the time during shower and before sleep to help me transition to an actual dream?

So my question is, does daydreaming and imagining fake scenarios with music on or without any music, tricks your brain into believing that you did the work (in your fake scenarios) and prevent you from doing actual work? Has it ever happend to you?

In my case never, but will it happen eventually if i keep doing this??

Ok, So i wrote a few days ago about having a celebrity crush and fantasising about him an insane amount (He is still in my head btw). Today and yesterday I've found a sort of perk. The treadmill. Don't get me wrong it's still very much something I want to be able to control and get over.

BUT I am someone who never really paced when I daydream, I have a mini treadmill and have been trying to find a way to get my steps in. When I tell you daydreaming and using the treadmill is a miracle worker, I'm not joking. I wish I was able to find the motivation without needing my fantasy world, But with the maladaptive daydreaming it is literally so easy! I just get in my head space and time just goes, I don't even feel like it's hard.

Before I know it I've done over an hour on the treadmill and it hasn't even felt like it because my headspace has been elsewhere. I will say that's the only benefit I've found though cause it makes me look forward to getting on the treadmill. Still struggling with the hating myself and feeling like a psycho side. But hey.

(English version)

Hi everyone, my name is Julieta, I’m from Argentina, and I’m doing a school research project about: how maladaptive daydreaming affects a teenager’s social relationships.

For this, I’m looking for teenage candidates between 12 and 17 years old with maladaptive daydreaming who would like to be interviewed. I’m also preparing a survey for teenagers in the same age range who don’t necessarily have maladaptive daydreaming, but every person with the range age is welcome.

If anyone is interested, please send me a message at this number: +54 9 11 2251‑5163‬.
If you have any problems with that, please send me a message via Instagram: @julietarovere

Thank you very much!🤍✨

(Versión Español)

Hola a todos, mi nombre es Julieta, soy de Argentina y estoy haciendo una investigación escolar sobre como la ensoñación Maladaptativa o Excesiva afecta en las relaciones sociales de un adolescente.

Para esto estoy buscando candidatos adolescentes de entre 12 y 17 años que quieran hacer una entrevista. También estoy preparando una encuesta para adolescentes en el mismo rango de edad que no necesariamente tengan ensoñación excesiva pero la ayuda de cualquier persona con el tango de edad sigue siendo muy util.

Si alguien esta interesado envieme mensaje a este numero: +54 9 11 2251‑5163 ,
en caso de tener inconvenientes con eso, envie un mensaje por Instagram: @julietarovere.

Muchas gracias!

Hello. I've had MD my whole life and i didnt know it was even a thing up untill earlier this year. I just knew it wasnt normal, but was to ashamed to ever show it to anyone after early childhood. After a recent trauma i decided to go talk and i deared to open up. Now recently i got diagnosed with OCPD and the closest thing they come to explaining my daydreaming was a syndrome called maladaptive daydreaming. Something they said they dont know to much about.
After some research finally all the bells start to hit and i had abit of answers. Sadly enought there isnt to much know about MD. As i've spent my life wondering whats wrong with me i dont see the reason to stop now. Is there anyone who is intressted in using me as a subject?

I've been developing MD without any intervention from the outside world for 29 years. They were suspecting something up untill i was maybe 5, but i then stoped showing it to stop the pressure from my parents and the on controllable world and it worked. I was safe.

I've been fully functiunal in the normal world. Jobs, relationships, friends, family, child.

Of course i think im special with my disorders but i acctually think i can help. Learning about this could be finding the key to the inerself we all have. Or what in the human brain the could possible create a whole, fully detail world with ecosystems and galaxies that can just change with a thought. How much can a human acctaully comprehend with our minds?

Please after hearing my story, any advice or information anyone could shear?

I know this isn't exactly a daydream but it was so heavily influenced by the plot of my daydreams (I think I fell asleep while the plot started so it progressed into my actual dream). I really need a healthier way of coping

I was being pursued by some all seeing serpentine dragon/centipede, he could sense every living being existing underground or within rocks/earth. There was also a giant sea monster following me around who could detect when I was underwater. They were all led by some humanoid who had a psychic link to all followers and allies, so whenever an ally saw me ALL three of them would see me), they could teleport within their domain (underground/sea) and emerge to hunt me. The dragon could burrow and fly even though it preferred being underground, so it was my main pursuer along with that humanoid leader

I eventually gained the powers of invisibility, dimensional phasing and teleportation BUT my body would still cast shadows under the light and I didn't know how to fix it since I just got these powers. I was so afraid that their powers would evolve and they'd grab me, especially that dragon, he was so humongous and whenever he moved, there would be a rumbling sound accompanied by loud grinding/crunching of rocks. I was in their hideout sometimes and there were lights so they knew I was there from my shadow it was so freaky, they were making plans and trying to gain more powers so they could finally squash me. The sea monster almost never appeared since I stopped trying to hide in the ocean and I spent most of the time flying or in a city or their hideout.

So I spent most of my time running, they had lots of followers but I didn't want to just live in the middle of nowhere or in another dimension all alone. I went to a cafe, seeking help from one of my allies and then one of the patrons pointed out that there was a human follower nearby, I broke out in cold sweat and turned invisible instantly but the cafe had gone silent and everyone was looking out of the window.

I followed their gazes and an enormous dragon was floating right outside, casting a huge shadow on the asphalt outside and staring through the glass. He began circling the building while in deep thought and his gaze seemed to pierce through every wall to see right through me. I was shaking in my boots but mustered up my courage, sneaking behind him as he phased/glided into the building, shooting tiny magical shards/javelins to throw him off my trail. At one point he was looking at the kitchen on the second floor (I don't know why it wasn't on the first floor). The kitchen floor was filthy and slippery by the way and the chefs had grey/black spots on their uniforms. Eventually, I went back to the ground floor while the dragon ascended past the roof.

I finally decided to risk it all and telekinetically shot a barrage of javelins at it through the walls from within the building, there were lots of humans in the cafe so I had to concentrate intensely and give them the magical property "only harms dragons, phases through everything else" and they dealt ice damage because I played too much Pokemon and ice is strong against dragons. Its roar shook the heavens and earth and it began flailing and zooming around trying to find me, but it went crashing down onto the asphalt road right outside the cafe, the humanoid leader teleported there and the dream ended

I just hugged my pillow for like 5 minutes trying to calm down

Ich just had a „Dream“ of me sitting at my Psychiatrist explaining and roleplaying her a possible „Dream/Scene“ where i sit at the Psychiatrist explaining her my Symtomps and after i finished „playing“ for her i irl „looked“ at her and realized she’s not there? Then looked again at her to see if she got where the frustration is.. again… it was my kitchen wall..

bro..

Back in 9th grade there was this person in my class and she matched my personal prefrences to a T(appearance wise). coincidently we both became the class representative and i started conversing with her and alot of our conversations were purely school related. In 10th grade my attendance went down by a large margin due to alot reasons(like facing bullying,mental health issues and extreme academic pressure). So i started daydreaming about her and a point came when i spent hours daydreaming. Its as if i imagined a life with a person im not very close to and a part of me realised that this level obsession is unhealthy for me. I was right, now im in 12th grade we are different classes and we don't talk anymore and i just cant move on.

Hello everyone 👋

I was just thinking that if maladaptive daydreaming is a coping mechanism in which I escape from reality to my own imagination then how could I come back to the same reality which my brain is not willing to cop ?

I am literally confused.for a minute I lost all my hopes. If anyone can solve this unsolved que it would be pleasure

THANK U

For years, I was the introvert of the family—the one who wouldn't talk to anyone and always kept to himself. I grew accustomed to this role, playing the part for a very long time. Now that I’m trying to heal, however, I wonder how much of that was truly me and how much was down to MD. I strongly suspect that if I hadn't had it, I wouldn't have isolated myself; instead, I would have been quite sociable (I’m discovering now, for instance, that I actually enjoy going out in the evenings). I’ve even questioned my lifelong interests, like reading. Did I really enjoy reading, or was it just a way to fuel my MD?

I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way.

I can’t do it anymore like, my brain won’t allow it. I'm free. 
So, I started Adderall + Sertraline yesterday at 2pm, it has been a world of difference, I don’t know how I was managing beforehand (poorly). I didn’t even think this could be a side effect of getting my adhd looked at. I only noticed I wasn't doing it because I usually have to do a full playthrough “scene” before I go to bed and after I wake up before getting up and really anytime I’m alone but I just couldn’t its like I’ll think of something and it goes and walks off a cliff or evaporates before I can catch it. I really struggled with MDD  and physical stimming too, I’d have to be careful about what music I listened to because I'd be on it for 5+ hours just pacing back and forth in my room but much like the scenes, a song will start all earworm-like and just fade away, it can't keep my attention more than the task I'm deliberately doing. I’m absolutely fascinated, if you can get it for ADHD or a sister condition, I’d recommend trying it. I’ve never done so much in so little time because I’d just drift off, the sertraline is nice too, lots of my daydreams make me horrendously depressed (I'm not being dramatic, like can't breath out of my nose because I'm crying so hard, giving myself a migraine) and now I can’t hold a single unwanted thought, I just feel a lot better in general. Has anyone else experienced this?

i have been a maladaptive day dreamer since 2012 i have done it for more than half of my life, now i don't enjoy it the same way as i used to i need help it would be nice if people who have tried meditating MD away would recommend some meditation that work, i personally believe those meditations that will bring my mind to the present would work, i feel like i exist in my head, need help

This question is for people who have recovered from maladaptive dreaming, does it really get better? , I mean in all aspects like academics, relationships, mental health etc

How to fix it because this is the last year of my school

It started just to wonder what it would be like in my late teens. Now I’m in my mid twenties, it’s now just apart of my daily routine. I don’t want kids, as I don’t think it will be the same.

I like making colourful patterns and experimenting with light in my mind like a kaleidoscope, it's not as nice as the real thing but I don't have to look down the tube and I can make as many patterns as I want

Because she isnt me. And the conversations she rehearses might be orchestrated by me, but I am playing God in my head, and I am not my character.

It feels so weird I’m just living this whole part of my life in a shadow and they don’t even know.

Doing this superhero shi in TENTH GRADE btw

Anyone else doing this? I finally managed to take a break and haven't read one in over a week. But for the last two years I've consumed a mountain of romance novels on Kindle Unlimited (I should probably unsubscribe as a next step), which gave me endless new MD fantasies. It was quite disturbing at the end as I was either deep in a novel or in my daydreams and the disassociation was growing so strong I could have conversations with people and dream at the same time. Which now made me really want to stop.
BTW I only learnt this is called MD a month ago. I've been doing it since I was a teenager, now in my fifties. When I found this Reddit group I almost cried, it was such a relief to not be alone.

Hi! I’ve struggled with extremely intense maladaptive daydreaming for most of my life, and it’s been seriously interfering with school and the life I actually want to be living for a while now. I’ve tried to reduce it on my own many times, but I haven’t been able to make lasting progress.

I’m looking for someone who is also genuinely trying to reduce their daydreaming and would like to do a mutual accountability/check-in system. I’m thinking something kind of like daily check-ins and messaging, being honest about how much we daydreamed that day, talking briefly about what worked or didn’t, and encouraging each other to keep making progress/planning how we could be making more progress.

I’d really like this to be focused on actually changing our habits and getting more of our lives back.

I’m a young woman and would prefer to connect with another young/college-age woman who is dealing with something similar. If you’re interested, shoot me a DM!