Maladaptive Daydreaming: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Maladaptive daydreaming can significantly impact life as it involves many hours dissociating from reality. This article can help you understand what maladaptive daydreaming is, as well as how to stop maladaptive daydreaming.

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that transported you to another time, place, or even realm? This is often telling of truly great writing or immersive production skills.

But have you ever gone through most of your day in a dream? Perhaps as the protagonist in your own vivid fictional universe?

If you have, chances are you’re a maladaptive daydreamer. Maladaptive daydreaming is when someone spends so much time fantasizing that it prevents them from fully living in the present.

Maladaptive daydreams can be so life-like and enticing that they can be hard to leave, particularly if you’re not happy in the real world. But what causes maladaptive daydreaming? And why is it bad?

So, without further ado, let’s journey into the world of maladaptive daydreaming.

What Is Maladaptive Daydreaming?

Maladaptive daydreaming refers to when someone spends excessive periods (often hours) daydreaming as a form of escapism or to cope with difficulties staying in reality. We call it “maladaptive daydreaming” rather than just “daydreaming” because these daydreams can lead to extreme distress or negative consequences to a person’s life in reality.

Maladaptive daydreams take very vivid, life-like forms that are made up of elaborate storylines that often feature the daydreamer as the central character. Such forms of daydreaming aren’t considered a mental illness, but they can take an emotional toll on the daydreamer and impact work, daily tasks, and relationships with family and friends.

Take the Quiz

Maladaptive Daydreaming Examples

Recently, The Guardian covered the case study of “Kayla,” a woman who often got lost in maladaptive daydreams that spanned 79 years. This was an imaginary life where she was the main character. Kayla described a fantasy universe that she could step into or out of whenever she wanted, just like turning a Netflix show on and off.

Another individual experiencing maladaptive daydreaming described being in a vivid fantasy after a romantic breakup. They continued to stay in the relationship in their daydream, mapping out and living their days as if the breakup had never happened.

And finally, there is the case of “Michelle,” whose daydreams involved her working as a reporter and traveling internationally to research COVID. She described spending hours in her mind, creating complex constructs that felt like real life, even though she knew they were not.

Is Maladaptive Daydreaming Bad?

Daydreaming is like eating sugary foods – having one donut won’t be disastrous for your health, but having four a day could become concerning pretty quickly. Similarly, small doses of daydreaming won’t have much of an impact, but spending excessive amounts of time in fantasy worlds can negatively influence your life.

Maladaptive daydreaming can be particularly distressing if you have a bad daydream. For example, some maladaptive daydreamers describe spending time dreaming of distressing events, such as their loved one’s funerals or their own suicide.

When daydreaming becomes maladaptive like this, or when it begins to affect how you live your life, it is considered bad. What’s more, if the cause of maladaptive daydreaming is to escape real life, as experts suggest, this may lead to people avoiding helpful treatment options like psychotherapy. But more on the causes of maladaptive daydreaming next.

What Causes Maladaptive Daydreaming?

The concept of maladaptive daydreaming was first introduced in 2002. So, the research into the potential causes of maladaptive daydreaming is lacking. However, experts suggest maladaptive daydreaming can act as a coping strategy for people with conditions like anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, and OCD.

It’s possible that people who struggle in reality use maladaptive daydreaming as a form of escapism and a way to be in control of their environment. However, this is all speculation, as no research has shed light on the true causes.

Nevertheless, let’s look at the prevalence of maladaptive daydreaming in different groups, including people with autism, ADHD, and OCD. We’ll also shed light on some potential explanations for why these connections exist.

Take the Quiz

Symptoms of Maladaptive Daydreaming

Each maladaptive daydreamer may have a slightly different experience. What’s more, as it’s a relatively newly recognized psychological disorder, it’s not featured in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM-5).

• However, there are some widely recognized symptoms most maladaptive daydreamers experience:
• Excessive and addictive vivid daydreams.
• Elaborate daydreams focusing on fantasies, with the daydreamer often taking a prominent role.
• Prolonged time spent in the daydreams, such as several hours a day.
• Repetitive, obsessive movements – like pacing – which accompany the daydreams.
• Feeling far away from or disconnected from others and the real world while daydreaming.

It’s important to clarify that maladaptive daydreamers know the difference between the real world and their daydreams. However, the daydreams can be intensely emotional, almost like living in virtual reality, which can cause significant distress. As a result, additional symptoms may include:

• Feeling guilty or ashamed.
• Trying hard to remain in reality rather than drift into a daydream.
• Struggling to be present or engage in daily tasks like work, chores, and socializing.
• Avoiding socializing and participating in previously enjoyed activities.
• An intense desire to spend time in a daydream.

Maladaptive Daydreaming and Autism

There appears to be a strong connection between maladaptive daydreaming and autism; around 42% of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reported experiences of immersive daydreaming. Long story short, no one fully understands what connects ASD and maladaptive daydreaming. However, experts have some ideas.

Some experts suggest that people with ASD may be better at convergent thinking, which involves using a set of ideas, forming links between these, and then creating unique conclusions.

On the other hand, other researchers suggest that the repetitive tendencies of people with ASD may lead to obsessive fantasizing and daydreaming.

Maladaptive Daydreaming and ADHD

According to one study, approximately 77% of maladaptive daydreamers have concurrent attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Another study found that 20.5% of people with ADHD show the main symptoms of maladaptive daydreaming.

So, ADHD and maladaptive daydreaming appear to be very closely linked. But why? Well, individuals with ADHD tend to have difficulty following instructions, focusing, and finishing tasks like homework, which may put them at greater risk for maladaptive daydreaming.

Alternatively, for individuals with ADHD, the boundaries between their common, everyday experiences (like distraction and mind wandering) and daydreaming may be blurred. Because of this, it may be difficult to identify what’s an ADHD symptom and cases of maladaptive daydreaming.

Maladaptive Daydreaming and OCD

The research on how common maladaptive daydreaming is in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is mixed. One study found that roughly 26% of maladaptive daydreamers have OCD, while another suggested a 53.9% crossover.

Researchers have proposed that the two may be linked due to their close relationship with dissociation. Dissociative absorption – a type of dissociation that involves narrowing your attention on a daydream at the expense of other important things in your surroundings – is strongly related to both maladaptive daydreaming and OCD.

However, again, these are just ideas that experts have been considering – we are not fully aware of the exact reason for the links between maladaptive daydreaming and mental health conditions like OCD.

Maladaptive Daydreaming Test

Clinicians such as your GP and mental health professionals won’t be able to diagnose you with maladaptive daydreaming syndrome, as it’s not yet recognized as a mental health disorder.

However, there are many maladaptive daydreaming tests out there to help you identify if you’re a maladaptive daydreamer. These tests combine the common symptoms of maladaptive daydreaming with the usual format for a self-report test, offering you a way to self-diagnose your maladaptive daydreaming.

The Attachment Project’s Maladaptive Daydreaming Quiz and report can help give you an idea of whether your daydreaming has crossed over into maladaptive.

Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale

Like with many mental health conditions, maladaptive daydreaming isn’t one-size-fits-all: there is a scale to its severity. While for some, daydreaming will cross over into maladaptive, others may simply be immersive daydreamers who still feel in control.

Somer and colleagues, who first reported maladaptive daydreaming in 2002, have developed a scale for the condition. They call the scale the 16-item Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (or MDS-16), and it includes items like:

• Some people notice that certain music can trigger their daydreaming. To what extent does music activate your daydreaming?
• How often are your current daydreams accompanied by vocal noises or facial expressions (e.g., laughing, talking, or mouthing the words)?
• Some people experience difficulties in controlling or limiting their daydreaming. How difficult has it been for you to keep your daydreaming under control?

These items are ranked on a scale from 0% (no difficulty at all) to 100% (extreme difficulty). In the English version, a score of 40 points or higher may indicate a maladaptive daydreaming disorder.

How to Stop Maladaptive Daydreaming

Daydreaming, if it becomes addictive and excessive, can take a toll on your daily life. For starters, it can make it difficult to complete daily tasks like chores, work, and school work. It can also wreak havoc on your social relationships, as you may spend increasingly more time in your fantasy world than in real life.

Luckily, there are strategies to reduce how often you end up in maladaptive daydreams. Research suggests that making certain life changes to improve your overall mental and physical well-being may reduce maladaptive daydreaming. These include:

• Eating a balanced and healthy diet (reducing sugar, unhealthy fats, and processed foods)
• Improving your sleep quality
• Confiding in your friends and family
• Using relaxation techniques like deep breathing
• Lowering your stress levels
• Spending time outdoors in fresh air and sunlight

However, this is generalized guidance to improve your overall health, and there is limited evidence about how to treat maladaptive daydreaming using lifestyle changes like this.

Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment

If your maladaptive daydreaming starts to negatively impact your life, it’s important to seek guidance from a licensed mental health professional or doctor. Getting treatment for maladaptive daydreaming disorder can be tricky because it’s not clinically recognized. However, your doctor will likely suggest one of two treatment options:

1. Medication for anxiety, depression, or psychosis

Generally, maladaptive daydreaming isn’t severe enough for someone to be prescribed medication. However, doctors or mental health professionals may prescribe medications for conditions like anxiety, depression, or psychosis if they are feeding into your maladaptive daydreaming.

One medication that has shown some effectiveness is fluvoxamine. However, the evidence for this revolves around just one case, so it’s important to take this into consideration.

Plus, deciding to take medication should not be considered lightly as there may be side effects.

2. One-to-one therapy (like cognitive behavioral therapy)

Psychotherapeutic approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are a common treatment method for many mental health conditions. CBT is typically offered to people with dissociative disorders, depression, anxiety, and OCD.

Psychotherapy can help you understand the root cause of your maladaptive daydreaming, why you keep returning to your fantasy world, and how you can manage it.

Take the Quiz

FAQs about Maladaptive Daydreaming

In case this article didn’t entirely answer any concerns you may have around maladaptive daydreaming, we’ve included a set of frequently asked questions that may cater to your needs.

Q: How to fight maladaptive daydreaming?

The treatment options for maladaptive daydreaming include psychotherapeutic practices like cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as anti-anxiety, antipsychotic, and antidepressant medications.

Looking after your mental and physical health also supposedly helps to fight maladaptive daydreaming. If you go down this route, it’s important to focus on:

• Eating a balanced and healthy diet
• Improving your sleep quality
• Confiding in your friends and family
• Using relaxation techniques like deep breathing
• Lowering your stress levels
• Spending time outdoors in fresh air and sunlight

Q: Is maladaptive daydreaming a mental illness?

Maladaptive daydreaming is not clinically recognized as a mental illness and isn’t classified as such in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, it was only first reported in 2002, so it’s possible we may see it classified as a mental illness in the future.

Q: Do I have maladaptive daydreaming?

As maladaptive daydreaming isn’t clinically recognized as a mental disorder, it’s difficult to know whether you’re a maladaptive daydreamer or not. However, if you’re daydreaming excessively to the point that it impacts your work, social life, and daily functioning, it’s possible that you may be a maladaptive daydreamer. If you would like a better indication, you can take our Maladaptive Daydreaming Quiz to receive a free report.

Q: Is maladaptive daydreaming rare?

According to one study, approximately 2.5% of adults experience maladaptive daydreaming. However, the study estimating this only focused on an Israeli-Jewish population, so this may not be the case for all populations. More research is needed to identify the true worldwide prevalence of maladaptive daydreaming.

Q: Is maladaptive daydreaming dissociation?

When it was first identified, maladaptive daydreaming was considered to be part of complex dissociative disorders. However, now they are only considered strongly related – the immersive nature of the daydreams draws the daydreamer out of reality, creating a distance between them and real life, as well as the people in it.