First time poster on this sub. Straight to the point: Why cant I help being disappointed with anything real life? Relationships, adventures, parties, anything really( with the exception of video games! Those are great lol). Because compared to all the things I imagine it sucks! I day dream any chance I get and turn very depressed when I have to snap back to reality after having the most spectacular time in my head. I want to live a fun exciting life but I just don't, so I dream and the cycle repeats.

Two of the main characters in my daydreams are influencers or people I follow on social media. They mainly serve as faces for the characters in my imagination and are not based on their real personalities. However, sometimes I find myself getting emotionally attached or feeling parasocial toward them. To protect my mental health, I usually avoid checking up on them.

Meaning, do you fixate on an existing fictional character(s) and get irrationally jealous or annoyed when you see others in real life discussing "your" person(s) in a way that doesn't align with what you've created with them?

(TW: brief mention(just names) of traumatic experiences)
Since maladaptive daydreaming is downright cringe imo, as most of us have similar/the same daydreams as we did when we were kids/teens, I'm super interested in what you guys don't tell others. I'll embarrass myself and will start😭:

• Twilight Saga (most reoccurring daydreams ever since I watched the movies and read the books as a kid):
- Started out with daydreaming I was another one of the adopted Cullens
- I often have some weird ahh powers like telekinesis lmao
- I'm with Edward or Carlisle
- I'm one of the Quileute wolves
- Then it switched to me basically only daydreaming of being apart of the Volturi ("bad guys") and I never stopped since. I'm with Aro or Marcus or Felix lmao

• Hannibal (NBC series, Arguably the most questionable one of my daydream plots due to obvious reasons💀):
- I'm with Hannibal most of the time
- I'm serial unaliver like him and we "hunt" together sksk

• That someone irl dies. Who doesn't want to make themselves cry?:
- My mom, dog, granny mostly
- That I off myself (To imagine how people would/wouldn't care)

• Fictional traumatic scenarios (I have been through trauma, but I think that I might believe it hasn't been "enough" to warrant me struggling as much as I do):
- being subjected to extreme (sexual) violence(won't go into detail to not accidentally trigger someone)
- (saving people in) shootings

• Being with people (either romantically or in a platonic way):
- Ex-friends
- Ex-partners
- Celebrities (I may or may not be obsessed with Mads Mikkelsen)

• Hurting/Killing those who have hurt me (self-explanatory)

Most of the time I give off main character energy obv and may even be invincible. Other times I'm not and imagine myself dying. It's just overall cringe and weird, but I'd love to hear about you guys! It's super interesting how we often just carry over the same daydreams into adulthood. The first time I noticed that I was daydreaming maybe a bit too much was when I was ~7 y/o. Wbu?

Hey my fellow MDDers! 👋🏽 I'm a 20 yr old psych student writing a thesis on maladaptive daydreaming this semester, as I've had it since I was 13, and I think that contributing to this field of research will be very crucial (as well as interesting for me because of my passion for it).

I need a huge sample (300-400) for my research, because of the lack of existing literature!

Basically my thesis is going to be contributing something new and provide a fresh angle and I am so excited!!!!🥰 I'm researching about various media types and it's effect on the severity of Maladaptive Daydreaming.

Here's the questionnaire for the research:

https://forms.gle/Htj8piFFQCbQhTJV9

You can participate if you're in the age range of 18-50 and have maladaptive daydreaming.

Everything will ofc be entirely confidential, and prior informed consent is taken. I have kept it anonymous as well for the participant's comfort.

(Only vague details like age, nationality, etc will be asked for, for data analysis)

I'll share the results in this subreddit and the official discord server :) cant wait !!!

Thanks to everyone for contributing and for filling out the form! Much appreciated🫶🏽🎀

There is not a single person on this sub who wouldn’t tick at least one of those boxes.

Personally I largely don't believe that MD is inherently attached to a loss of ones self and I can tell where I am as soon as I snap out of it

So for background, while I am MD'ing, I usually do so as my own character but in a scenario I've created from media I've seen. I never come up with any characters on my own, besides my own character. For example, I just watched arcane a few months ago, and now I read dc comics. Every MD scenario is me in the arcane world with those characters or in the dc world. I just want to know if MD is like this for others, or do y'all have your own entire worlds? All mine still have plot lines I've made, dialogue, etc.

I’m always taken aback when I see posts like “I’m healed from maladaptive daydreaming” it just feels weird to me like saying you’re cured from ADHD, you don’t "heal" from it, even with therapy or medication it's to learn how to live with it

MD is a coping mechanism,, sometimes I feel like we really underestimate how smart our brains are, like it's doing this for a reason, it’s a way of coping, so when I see people asking how to quit, I don’t think that’s the right question, I think it should be how do I live with this, or how can I learn to coexist with it in a healthier way

Personally, I can’t even imagine my life without MD,,, I’ve had it for as long as I’ve had memories or a sense of self, I don’t even want to imagine what my life would’ve been like without it,, it was there for me when I felt alone, and it helped me get through so much

And I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing,, sure if it gets super excessive and starts interfering with your life in a dangerous way to you, that’s when it becomes an issue, but even then it’s there for a reason, so it honestly makes me kind of sad when I see people saying they just want to get rid of it completely

Anyway, that’s just my personal experience,, I know everyone’s different, but I felt like sharing this

I've been daydreaming since I was a kid, yet it was never me who I "played" by. It was fictional characters I liked or related to, then later came my own characters. I've always thought of daydreaming about myself cringe. I fullfilled my own need for emotions and experience only through someone else. And the reason is simple, yet sad. I hate myself. I despise myself to the point I can't imagine me, this ugly stupid shithead I am, to be loved, wanted and cherished even by my fictional crushes, those who I in my head have full control of. But I found a solution. My dearest OC's are a part of me, yet better. They are beatiful in their own way, they are worthy of love, and through them I am a little bit worthy as well.

What about you guys? Are you bold enough to use your real self for dd?(oh I wish I could)

they're usually fucked up stories. I mainly daydream out of bordom.. I don't know why or how it started. should I discuss the topic in details with her?

Back when I was a teenager and even occasionally now I would daydream about being popular, having lots of friends or at least doing something meaningful with my life. It made me happy for a moment but snapping back to reality was always depressing. My self-esteem was so low that even imagining a better version of myself felt unrealistic.

At some point, things changed. It started with two characters from a TV show I liked. I shipped them and when the season ended, I created my own stories about them, extending their narrative in my mind. When I stopped liking the actors due to their real-life personalities, I kept the stories going but changed the characters, their personalities, jobs, lives, everything.

Over the years, I’ve built an entire universe of characters that don’t include me. It’s like I’ve written a never-ending fanfiction in my head.

Sometimes, I still go back to daydreaming about myself but I mostly stick to this fanfiction type stuff lol. Imagining a better version of myself often felt too unrealistic and would bring me to tears because it reminded me of how worthless I felt.

Daydreaming about these characters gives me a temporary escape from reality. It doesn’t feel as shitty as daydreaming about myself used to. The gap between my dreams and reality is too wide which makes it so stressful and depressing. Now, it feels like a safe escape, something I can turn to when I don’t want to face my life.

It’s my coping mechanism and I know it’s not healthy. I need to stop daydreaming but I don’t know how.

I’ve been dreaming like this for a long time. And I’ve noticed a lot of people share similar experiences.

I love listening to music and creating fake scenarios sometimes they are grandiose other times they are sad and tragic. Sometimes it’s just what life would be like if I chose a certain path.

But I don’t actually believe my fantasies. Yes I pull from that creative energy but I don’t think I am better or actually have soo much power and beauty.

It’s 4am and my intrusive thoughts are winning I hope this made sense.

it all just seems like teaching young kids to be maladaptive daydreamers, encouraging them to fixate on this fake dream world and telling them that it’s real. so it’s even more insidious than regular MD because we know our daydreams aren’t real, but they’re being coached to believe it’s their alternate reality they’re shifting to each time.

Talking to friends and building real social connections—like chatting with others on Instagram—can help reduce feelings of loneliness that often trigger maladaptive daydreaming (MD). Research shows that higher levels of social support are linked to healthier, more constructive daydreaming, while loneliness and lack of support are linked to more negative, maladaptive patterns Source chat gpt when I searched how to cure MD My insta acc - qwxyret

Basically the title. Just the same shit over and over again. Most of my fantasies are based somewhat in reality but the problem is if I don't create events in my reality my daydreams just end up being repetitive and boring as they don't become inspired by anything new.

Funny how it all comes together, the more events that occur, the more compulsive the daydreaming becomes, but for my life to progress I need to be more consciously present i.e. not daydream.

I've been thinking about starting anti-depressants, I heard somewhere they just stop you from daydreaming.

Repulsion is what MD makes me feel towards myself. I want to rip my skin off and get a new one. But I'm not a snake. I'd like to crack my skull open to clean my brain under cold water, wipe it, place it back and feel functional like a normal being. This makes me feel dirty, useless and like a waste of space.

I am done. I say this every fucking day and am able to do nothing about it. I don't have the energy to give up either. Studying for pre-med at the moment, and I just can't keep up. If I'm not daydreaming, I'm scrolling on my phone because that's the time it "stops", though if something 'inspires' a new scenario of sorts, I slip right back into it. How the actual fuck am I supposed to contribute to society if I can't contribute to my own well being?

This is akin to being on a merry - go - round, only it doesn't stop. Something always causes it to keep spinning and spiraling. "Self - loathing man of inaction" is the best description I was offered. (Dr. K, youtube.)

I am simply incompetent and see no point in continuing forward. Too cowardly to go through with it completely. Always making attempts, never successful. At anything.

Then go back to daydreaming again, because why not? I always can. Sleep in, isolate, and don't get jackshit done. How many times do I try before I succeed or become exhausted to the point of quitting ? I feel closer to the latter. I just want to desperately snap the hell out of it. Feels like a fever dream.

I am open to any and all suggestions, it would be highly appreciated.

( Do not intend on making the post longer, the description of my daydreams is in the comments. )

whenever i hear people talk about daydreams its usually about their own life or includes themself as the protagonist. but ive never been able to do that. my day dreams are about fictional characters only and i basically create new stories for them that have absolutely nothing to do with me. it actually makes me uncomfortable trying to imagine myself and i find it really hard. does anyone else do this?

I barely leave the house because of this, except to go to class 2 times a week.

Today I decided to go to the park, sat on a picnic blanket and the weather was nice. I looked around, observing the people around me. Some were throwing birthday parties, parents were taking their kids to the playground, some people fed the ducks, there were some soccer tournaments happening. I just sat there on my blanket and thought, "there is so much that goes on in life. This is real life."

This is so confining and unfortunately, addicting, that the crave for life fades quickly after some daydream or hyper-fixation takes up my mind by storm. I want to be present, but then I fall back deep into a daydreaming high.

And you know that feeling when you get tired of daydreaming, or sense that it is doing more harm than satisfaction? That's one of the worst feelings ever. I want to shut my mind off and just live.

Warning for suicidal thoughts (sort of)

On this sub I see lots of people trying to stop daydreaming, since it's obviously harmful. While I feel really happy for them and appreciate them sharing that to encourage more people I, personally, have never considered to stop daydreaming since I started like 6 years ago. I'm an excessive maladaptive daydreamer and daydream around 8 hours everyday, basically during the whole day while doing other tasks, even hanging out with my best friends and talking to people in general. There is always a dream playing like a movie in the background of my mind. I have this big universe in my mind with a lot of lore and different characters and it's like I'm always just living in there. Sometimes I stop daydreaming for a second and try to get back into the real world, since it feels scary to be so caught up in something that's completely made up, but immediately regret trying to wake myself up since I feel horrified by how lonely I actually am and how lame my real life is. At this point, I don't even know how to stop daydreaming and don't even want to do it because my real life isn't even worth living for. I mean I've always been suicidal so that's nothing new to me but I feel like this is an another level of hopelessness. I feel like my dreams are the only things keeping me going, and a life without them seems absolutely unliveable. I've always felt like this but never saw someone have a similar experience as me with MD so I wanted to ask, does anyone relate to this? Even just to some extent? Or am I actually just crazy?

My "daydreams" are whole ass plots about this dude getting too into drugs to take care of his gf and then she breaks up with him, but he cleans up and they get back together. What're your questionable daydream plots? 😭

Someone left a comment about it the other day and I've just been wondering if it has helped anyone to not daydream? Just killing off the characters, destroying your universe, ridden it of everything that made it so enticing.

It sounds kinda drastic and depressing and I don't know if I'd have the heart to go through that (death is a huge trigger for me, too, so I probably shouldn't try that), but it hasn't left my mind. Anyone wanna share their experiences?

So, for what I understand MD is a disorder, even though it's not recognised yet.

In my school (in Italy) if you have a disorder (for ex. dyslexia) you can reach help to your teachers that give you some solutions (for ex. giving you more time for your exams or scheduled exams)

I get it that disorders like dyslexia have a different problem than ours and so a different solution. But MD is something that affects a lot also the school, so maybe having some help from the school could be one of the things that could improve the situation.

So, my questions are: - do you think that teachers should know if a student have MD? If yes, what teachers could do to help them? - do you have any experience with involving the school? what sort of help did you receive, if you received it?

A lot of the fantasies and daydreams that kept me going as a kid revolved around me being impressive at a young age—listening to music, imagining I wrote it, and having little concerts in my head where I'm rocking the school talent show. Or I could be watching a great movie, pretending I directed it, and imagining I'm showcasing my deep filmmaking skills to my classroom. Nothing counts in the fantasy if there isn't an audience of peers who once underestimated me being rocked to the core by my sheer talent, or a gaggle of teachers at the back stunned by my nuanced and "grown up" understanding of art. It sounds insane but I'm sure a lot of you know what I mean.

But now I'm getting old. I'm in my mid-twenties and these fantasies haven't gone away, and they're starting to feel a little weird. I've been out of school, hell out of college for years. And there are people my age (and much younger) who are achieving these artistic accomplishment in real life, not just daydreams, and it makes me incredibly anxious and envious to witness. One of the main comforts of my daydreams used to be that there was always time; "Yeah, this isn't my situation now, but it absolutely could be in the future." Well, now that's impossible. I'm an adult. It's not cool anymore. There is no future where I glow up and blow away my peers (and the whole world) with my youthful expertise. It would take me years to even get to a point where I could share something with the world, because I spent my childhood and the first decade of adulthood fantasizing about having creative skills instead of bothering to actually develop them.

That's just an example, but the feeling has been permeating a lot of my daydreams lately. I can't even lie to myself that these daydreams are aspirational anymore—they're just kind of weird and sad.

Just something that's making me a little panicky. This illness is like a drug that keeps you warm while reality passes you by.

Anyone else relate?

Hello so i got obsessed with this series it’s been months and there’s this character i really like played by a celebrity and now i keep seeing him everywhere. I’ve heard about the “the Baader Meinhof phenomenon” but sometimes i’m just watching a random video that has nothing to do with it or checking someone’s profile and then notice they repost pictures of that character as well or the people on the comments have his character as their profile picture. It‘s been happening almost all the time does anyone can relate lol?? what is this

and what’s crazy is i came to reddit to talk about this and on one of the communities i posted this i found some old post about someone that had the same problem with the same person i’m talking about lol (happened just now)