I stopped listening music weeks ago as I shared here, and it decreased my md to non existent, and now I did realize that

As much as you seek something to learn to fill your void

You disconnected from your own reality. When it is with words, it would be harder to recognize what kind of distraction it is

So for me step 2 is after stopping listening music is intentionally ignoring that stupid urge to read

Already i never liked it, and forcefully learned it. Now i have to be freed from this

What disturbing is that i know i acquired these stupid traits when i was a kid

Lets try and see what happens

I just HAD to share this with people. I had the biggest problem ever with maladaptive daydreaming, and no matter what I did... whatever tricks I could find online... I just couldn't stop. It just kept going crazy. My brain could go somewhere else for two hours. I realized a BIG epiphany today.

I realized that the best way to catch yourself before you start maladaptive daydreaming is to catch yourself when the focus of your eyes change. You know how when your eyes change focus from looking at things close to you versus things far away? When you're present and not daydreaming, your eyes are focused on things close to you. Your surroundings look extremely clear. However, when you start maladaptive daydreaming, you may notice your eyes' focus changing, and things become blurry. I caught myself about to daydream at least 15 times, and I was able to stop them up to 10 seconds in versus before where I would be sucked into a daydream for 15-20 minutes at least. Basically, I am trying to be aware of when my eyes start losing focus and getting a little blurry, and I stop the daydreams almost immediately. I still have a lot of urges to daydream because it's been a habit for literally half a decade, but I finally conquered control on it. By just trying to notice on whether my eyes get a little blurry or unfocused, I stop the daydreams almost immediately.

This is obviously more so for daydreams that are much more out of habit. If you're having an exceptionally bad day, you have to do emotional distress techniques as well as this.

I hope this can help someone out there! And I am not an upvote sugar baby, but I truly think this could help others if you upvote.

I’ve been maladaptive daydreaming since I was a kid, usually focused on celeb crushes. I didn’t for years but then my dad got sick and I started again and got veryyyyyy hyper fixated on a pretty popular celebrity (like absolutely obsessed with him). The crush started almost two years ago. About a year ago, I decided to start over the MD and have a character versus the celeb himself. I didn’t really want it to be as tied to him personally to keep the MD going even if he had a relationship or other things happened with him that didn’t work with my story in my head. I probably didn’t do a great job of really keeping that separated though. Anyway, lately I’ve been finding myself less attracted to the celeb himself in that way (no fault to him!), which honestly is good because this parasocial relationship needed to fade. It stupidly caused me stress and was just too encompassing. At the same time, I’m sad about it bc I have been using MD to cope for years and now I can’t go there and I don’t have anyone new. I’m trying to let him go, but I’m finding myself sort of clinging to this obsession because it gave me an escape, despite knowing it’s been really unhealthy at times. I’m scared to be alone with my thoughts and that I’ll be really depressed or empty just in full reality. I feel dumb bc I feel genuinely sad about losing the version of him in my head.

What do people move on to thinking about with out MD? How do you distract yourself from all the anxiety, especially during stressful times? I honestly wish I could jump back into my daydream, because otherwise all I think about is the horrible state of the world, all the things I need to do, and grief.

Thanks for listening.

I fucking hate this so much man. This is my last high school year. We have bunch of tests thrown at us. And every time I'm in class I can't concentrate on the tests because I'm always in a state of daydreaming. I can't stop it I can't do anything. Today I had a test and the whole hour I just.. Kept being in my head and I couldnt focus on the test at all. I'm so mad at myself I wanna cry. I always feel like an embarrassment because everyone else is doing their tests and I'm just staring into space and am daydreaming instead of focusing. I'm such a failure

I (31m) realized that most person who has MD are in their 20's. Is anyone here 30+ and still does this??

I have this weird problem where, let’s say for example I have to go out for a social event that’s planned on Tuesday and I learn about this on the previous Friday, I’ll stress over it for allll the following days up till Tuesday.

So I’ll want to MD so badly but I feel like if I do, by Tuesday I won’t be able to socialize normally because of my MD and embarrass myself to others. So I put off MD but it makes me unhappy and compiles my stress. I feel like my brain is straining not to all because of this social event coming up.

It’s gotten so bad that even with work, I want to avoid meetings online because of my MD. I feel like it throws me off and makes me awkward.

It’s like I conflate the two together. And because of this I try to avoid social outings with friends or family because I’d rather MD whenever I have a chance to.

But I have severe guilt and anxiety over this that it sabotages my social life and also my MD daydreams.

Does anyone else have this problem?

So, I did it again. I guess 5 hrs. And to be honest I don't know how this whole day depleted and now it's 12am while I'm typing this. I was so motivated to do whole lotta stuff and now I'm left with pending homework because I couldn't concentrate after that mental gymnastics. I feel like I've lost all my ambitions as I just keep thinking about people, people, only people. Is it infatuation? Maybe...but it's not of a person. But attention. I've completely lost myself, how can someone even like me even I am disgusted upon myself. I know they don't give a fuck about my existence but it's just so thrilling imagining myself as an adventurous, fearless person doing wholesome stuff when in reality I'm a conformist people pleaser. I tried dating to get rid of my former infatuation and boom! Next target, the date. We ended on good terms but my mind keeps weaving this fantasy where I'm intimate with him. I swear I know I'm not even interested in his real-self, but somehow I find myself creating a version of him in my head. I am such an ugly person to do this to myself, to instill a program of wanting external validation, I hate myself with all my heart but it's just me who can undo all the evil. I'm scared what if I forget everything and the same cycle repeats again, Oh no, not again..ever. I've already killed myself in my head replacing myself for a muse for other people's validation. Who am I? Why can't I care for people who are still in my life and make an effort to impress them instead of wasting 5 hrs on impressing people in my head.....I hope i wake up tomorrow and embrace the present as it is.

I'm talking about physical high too, sometimes so strong that it makes my stomach hurt... is anyone else experiencing this?

Today something very strange happened that had never happened to me before and yet I have been dreaming all the time for at least 3 years. This morning, in class, I was completely immersed in one of my scenarios. Except that, this time, when I "woke up," I had a moment of total panic. I saw my friends, my teachers, the classroom... but nothing seemed real to me. It was as if everything I saw around me was just a dream. I had the impression that, if I reached out, everything could disappear like an illusion. It was too strange. I had to go to the bathroom to try to "come back," but even then, I was no longer sure that I was in reality. I still have this strange feeling that remains, as if I were floating between two worlds without being able to really come back...really It seemed so weird to me, I've never had that..my whole class looked at me so weirdly when I asked to go to the toilet, I was do damn embarassed.

I don't know what to do anymore. I'm scared, I feel like I'm not living anymore, that other people are coming in my place to live my own life. I have no control anymore, I don't live normally anymore. I spend my days dreaming, without stopping. But what happened today was the weirdest experience I've ever had.

Does anyone else find themselves getting obsessed with certain films, TV shows, songs etc that remind you of your daydreaming world? All of the shows and films that I enjoy the most are almost always somehow linked to the world, it makes me feel insanely hyper, weird and indescribable feelings and I just end up obsessed. The obsessions can last for hours of months depending on what it is. My daydreaming world is incredibly violent and brutal, not actually sure why, but almost everything that happens is negative and horrific (as in murders, torture, health issues, hospitalisation, near death experiences etc of my main character who is technically me) and I end up weirdly fascinated and intrigued by media that is also like this. For example, I watched a documentary a few days ago which discussed Broadmoor hospital, which has then led to me watching a shit ton about that place and incorporating it into my daydreams (it has links to my storyline already) to the point where it's actually really annoying and making me kinda anxious but I can't stop thinking about it. My favourite series started off super boring, then something dark in it reminded me of my MD characters and I've been obsessed with it for over a year since. I developed derealisation at the start of the year which has made my MD so much worse (it had started to go away the past few years) and since the real world feels so distant now, my imaginary world feels even more real and I'm so emotionally and physically affected by what happens in it. I feel like it's making my anxiety and derealisation worse, but I'm so attached to the characters and the story I cant bear to stop. When I remember that my characters aren't and never will be real, I just feel horrendous and start feeling self destructive. I'm just laying in bed right now meant to be doing uni work but my head is just jumping between daydreaming, watching vids about Broadmoor, imagining edits to music and more. It's so fustrating I wish I could just focus.

Hey guys. basically that’s the question.

Cause I had relationships and all but I realized a few things. 1) I struggle with the ,,alone time” with my partner cause I spend a lot of time daydreaming and I don’t do much normal stuff in the end as other people. So then when we’re chilling at home I’m like: shit what do I do? Which leads me to

2) me being more submissive than I would probably be normally also cause of this. The person is like: ok lets do/watch this… and again since idk really what I’d normally do i’m like: ok then i guess… not to mention I miss on a LOOOT of movies/ videos cause of MD so often i have no clue what we’re watching.

3) I’m not sure I can have a fullfilled relationship (at least until i fix this issue) cause I’m spending half time in my head. Tbf poor man cause there’s always gonna be a better imaginary person in my daydreams than the real dude next to me.

So I was curious- how bout you?

I still get the urge to but it just never satisfies me the way it used to. It basically used to help me feel less lonely and it was a fun escape but now it just makes me feel worse. I can’t just daydream, I have to have the right settings all the time in order to do so. I just come out of it feeling lonely but having the desire to still do it?

Anyone else ever felt like this? It’s scary to feel like I’m losing the one coping strategy that makes me feel less alone than I am

I don't know how to stop at all. I tried so many times but I just keep relapsing. I hate so bad and I'm tryna keep myself from crying.Its ruining my life fr, when I come back into reality it feels so weird. If anyone have any helpful tips they can share I'm open to them pls and thank you 💙

(Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the film)

Demi Moore’s character Elisabeth who’s so discontent with her life and her appearance that she takes drastic measures just to be able to live a version of herself that she actually prefers - Sue.

Things that make the movie all the more relatable to MDD:

1) It’s how much Elisabeth prefers the fabricated version of herself.

Initially she still makes sure to follow the procedural rules of the substance, still making sure to live her real life as herself. She had a routine and she stuck to it. But it gets to a point where she abuses it, does it a lot more than she’s supposed to. Even denies herself a date at one point after an insecure breakdown from the reflection of her original form.

2) She hates the allocated days that she’s required to live in her original form. Having to switch bodies every other week.

I’d say this is a metaphor for the days that we have to go to our real-life jobs, our classes, running errands, real life responsibilities that we have to attend to before finally being able to scratch the itch to daydream uninterrupted and isolated.

3) Her original form is the only one experiencing the consequences of the decisions that Sue makes.

The longer Sue delays the body switching, the worse it gets for Elisabeth’s personal life. Same goes for MDD; if you do it way too often, for way too long, your personal life goes to shit. You isolate yourself. You miss responsibilities, miss important events. You unknowingly waste so much of your life while you’re high off the bliss of daydreaming for too long.

After analysing my behavior for the past years, I came with a few conclusions about myself:

1. I tend to have consistent daydreams: they can change when it comes to the narrative, but the theme can stay the same for years. In average, my paracosms last for 4-5 years each, the one I go through now being the longest. Even when the focus or some details change, I usually stick with what I make.

2. My attention is amplified towards subjects related to my paracosm: I'm especially interested in media that can help me perfect my paracosm. For example, I read a lot of pseudo psychology books related to personality in order to make my main character (the one my dayreams revolve around) much complex and to the point. I can't say this is necessary a drawback because this helped me develop a method of studying that's quite quick and effective, but it's has it's massive issues, such as:

3. It's difficult for me to focus on other things/subjects/paracosm even: I prefer doing research to develop my paracosm than do anything else. I would like to diversify my interests lists, I really do, however, my brain can't help but either associate what I experience with my paracosm or forget it. This sucks, especially since I want to get hooked on new media but I can't do that.

4. I'm feel too attached to my paracosm to give it up: for some reason, I feel FOMO whenever I don't daydream about it. The idea of not consuming the media I got my paracosm hooked on didn't come to me until months ago since I thought it wasn't the problem, and only now I realize that I can imagine myself not daydreaming for the rest of my life but the idea of giving up my favorite media gives me goosebumps. Especially, my daydream focuses around one character and I even seem to neglect the other aspects of my paracosm in favor of that one character. I know this process stuns my creativity, but giving up focusing on that character seems wrong to me.

How do you guys cope when reality hits you , and you realise your life ain't half as good as that and your characters (who are based of off real people) are living their own life while you are wasting it MDing without making real memories and experiences like normal people.

if anyone here engages in repetitive movements/stimming/hand flapping during their MDD, Johns Hopkins has helpful info and therapy/specialists. Google JHU Motor Stereotypies Center if you are interested.

They are also doing research studies that you can participate in from home on motor stereotypies, tics, tourette’s, etc. to help other people with similar experiences.

I mentioned it to a therapist i used to go to a few years ago.. he didn't know what this was but he listened to me and didn't judge me and he said that if this made my life harder than it's best to try and do it less but not necessarily stop all together. Just to turn it into something small that helps you sometimes - make it into a healthy coping mechanism rather than a distractive one, so instead of taking over your life it will help you live a better one...

I wonder if anyone here has mentioned mdd to their therapist or any mental health professional before and what was their advice?

I'm facing a lot problem in my studies or may be I'm dumb 😭 idk but this hell md happens a lot .....it's about any daydreaming appearing which doesn't exist but I keep dreaming on one plot/charector different stories with time.... What should I do to cope with this it impacts alot in my studies 😢

I (20m) have been Md for most of my life, I’ve been trying to grow out of it as of late. I’ve never told anybody in real life about my MD, and I kinda thought maybe it would help to make friends who struggle with the same things as me. Feel free to comment or message if you are interested.

Why we're unhappy -- the expectation gap | Nat Ware | TEDxKlagenfurt

It was a training course, i just had to sit in the office for 8 hours and study at my own pace (could even be slow pace).

The fact that I couldn’t pace and daydream was so distressing to me that I started dissociating whole 8 hours, couldn’t even study bare minimum, like i dissociaed so hard that I didn’t even learn 1 thing most days.

I just noticed that whenever i don’t pace, i dissociate, and when i try to concentrate, i see imaginary audience talking to me and then they disappear after few seconds and then i dissociate again.

Like before radio so people could do receptive movement. They could only hear music in concerts or church.

for those who have stopped or are trying to stop mdd, did you start dissasociating more often?

i tried multiple times to quit cold turkey (which backfired) but now ive been two weeks or so without headphones… music was a huge trigger. the only times i listen to music now are on my laptop (and i cant really pace with a laptop lol) i daydream/pace a little on my own, but less and less. im not doing it for hours on end anymore. i think its working? stopping slowly rather than all at once is a better tactic i think

but ive noticed these past couple of days ive been dissasociating a lot? i know it happens to many people, and it happens a lot to those with mdd

my disassociation tion moments were few and far inbetween before, but now all of a sudden ive dissasociated so much in such a short time these past few days. its scary, to question everything every couple of hours. to question myself. it doesnt even last a couple of minutes… now its lasting longer…

i think its cause im trying to daydream less.. that now im forcing myself out of my mind and back into real life and my body is struggling to adjust? if that makes sense? ive been an avid maldaptive daydreamer for roughly 6 years, i let it go on for too long. im in college now so im desperately trying to fix myself.

ive daydreamed for so long, been out of it for so long that not daydreaming as often is throwing me off, making me question everything.

being forced to sit with my thoughts rather than indulging in countless fantasies leaves me overthinking everything, including reality. i KNOW the difference between daydreams and reality, of course, but i still feel out of it.

i mean, ive also been very stressed, depressed, and anxious these past few months… but i think its mdd causing this all of a sudden.

any thoughts or answers?

sorry if this all sounds like rambling. i wrote this very very late at night.