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There are different well-known mechanisms individuals adopt to deal with stress. The coping mechanisms can be both adaptive as well as maladaptive. These methods either focus on solving the issue at hand or attempt to escape them. Maladaptive daydreaming is one of the unhealthy coping mechanisms which can interfere with daily activity. The main purpose served by daydreaming is to escape the reality which is experienced as unpleasant by the individual. Daydreaming is an act of involving the passive brain into a web of thoughts of imagination where one spends an excessive amount of time. The condition of daydreaming is where the person regularly and frequently experiences vivid, intense and highly distracting daydreams that changes their behaviour, body language, expressions, mood and involvement. It is sometimes triggered by real life events and can become intrusive with time. It can result in distress, disappointment and disorientation.
The symptoms and psychological effects associated with maladaptive daydreaming include:
- Acting out the thoughts of the daydream through gestures.
- Intense desire to continue the daydreams
- Difficulty faced in attention and concentration
- Episodes of forgetfulness
- Inability to initiate or maintain sleep at night
- The period of time of daydream is up to several hours
- Less oriented with the present moment.
While studying dissociative behaviours in 2002, an Israeli professor of clinical psychology of University of Haifa first recognized the condition of maladaptive daydreamer. Psychologist Cynthia Schupak, a lawyer and Jayne Bigelsen anti-trafficking activist co-authored a research that found 79% of the daydreamer subjects showed kinesthetic engagement with their fantasies. The study also indicated that the compulsion of daydreaming is difficult which interferes with daily work and interpersonal relationships. It has also been associated with several psychological disorders like obsessive compulsive disorders, anxiety and major depressive disorders. One study estimated maladaptive daydreaming affects 20% of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the United States.
The root causes for maladaptive daydreaming are as follows:
- Avoidance – The main aim behind daydreaming in initial stages for the sufferer is to avoid some real-life problems. They attempt to ignore the confrontation of the issues through use of temporary solutions.
- Boredom – Individuals with an introverted pattern of thinking look for something new and a positive engagement through engaging in the daydreams which is somehow lacking in their real life. In some cases, this becomes a habit that makes life rewarding.
- Response to trauma – Existence of history of abuse plays a major role in triggering behaviours related to maladaptive daydreaming in later life. Individuals who have faced major traumatic incidents in the past tend to experience anxiety related to that incident in several other similar challenging situations. The survivors of abuse hence attempt to deal with their anxiousness by engaging in vivid daydreams.
- Loneliness – In some cases, individuals lacking social support or warmth in their real world might engage in daydreaming in order to combat loneliness. The act itself gives them joy and fulfils their need to belong. The acceptance and healthy interpersonal dynamics they experience in their daydreams push them to continue the behaviour till it becomes compulsive.
- Escapism – Certain circumstances appear to be extremely distressing and overwhelming for individuals which leads to stress. The personality patterns that tend to escape stress occasionally retreat to more abstract maladaptive daydreams during intense and difficult scenarios. This behaviour leads to continued social and emotional dysfunction.
The experience of maladaptive daydreaming becomes difficult to control overtime and continues to negatively impact life. The treatment lies in the ability to regulate emotions associated with the intrusive thoughts which is done through dialectical behaviour therapy. Practising mindfulness and meditation is also suggested which helps the clients focus on the present environment. It makes them aware of their thoughts as mental events and not as facts. Journaling as a coping mechanism also can help where the thoughts and associated feelings are given a physical medium of expression. Therapists also recognize the specific precipitating factors that trigger the maladaptive daydreams. These triggers or stressors are then carefully addressed so as to make the client equipped enough to confront them in future scenarios. Engaging in self-praise when maladaptive daydreaming is successfully avoided is also one of the ways that help in coping with this condition.
Psychological well-being surrounds how well we nourish our emotional and mental state. It is therefore necessary for individuals to admit all the mental issues they are facing. In conditions like maladaptive daydreaming it might be challenging to accept it as a problem as it seems to have started willingly. However, awareness is slowly developing about how reactions to stress, isolation or major life changes could be varied and dealt with successfully. Hence, it is crucial to emotionally support the ones suffering from maladaptive daydreaming in order to eventually navigate them towards healthy mechanisms that promote both well-being and adequate adjustments.
– Urveez Kakalia & Debanjana Banerjee.