People with “Maladaptive Daydreaming” spend an average of four hours a day lost in their imagination

This study is, they say, the first to explore the mental health factors that accompany Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) over time – and it provides insights into not only what might cause these intense, vivid, extended bouts of daydreaming but also hints at how to prevent them, or how to stop them in their tracks. Because while many people who experience MD report enjoying their daydreams at the time, MD can also negatively affect their relationships with others, their day-to-day lives, and their overall emotional wellbeing. Earlier work led researchers to suggest that MD might be either a dissociative disorder, a disturbance of attention, a behavioural addiction or an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder.  For the new online study, Somer and Soffer-Dudek recruited 77 self-diagnosed sufferers of MD, from 26 different countries, ranging in age from 18-60. Just over 80 per cent were women (possibly because women seem to be more affected by MD than men, the researchers write). The participants first provided details about any mental health diagnoses (21 had been diagnosed with depression, 14 with anxiety disorders and 5 with OCD, among other disorders). Then, each evening before bed, for 14 days, they completed a series of questionnaires that asked about their experiences that day. These scales assessed levels of dissociation, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, and emotion – and also maladaptive day dreaming. (Participants were asked t...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Mental health Sleep and dreaming Source Type: blogs