I wish I could have back the intensity of that one 😔 it felt so good at the time but i can barely remember the feelings now, just the actual facts of the story
I dont think I'll forget it but then I've had other really long vivid ones before that I've forgotten details of and it always sucks (although sometimes it can be fun to basically rerun the same storyline, its like rereading a book after a long time, but then I worry im sort of "writing over" stuff that happening in the original storyline)
I think the biggest issue facing maladaptive daydreaming has gotta be causation vs reaction
Ie is MD a disorder in its own right, or is it caused by something else? A lot of people consider it to be a coping mechanism, or a side effect of adhd or OCD. It could potentially be that MaDD is a disorder but some people with OCD/ADHD present very similar symptoms.
I think about this a lot when I'm asked if daydreaming stops me doing work bc the answer is "I dont really know". I dont know if I stopped working (or procrastinated working) because of daydreams, or if I was doing that anyway and it just so happens that I daydream on impulse whenever I'm not really doing anything (regardless of if I should be doing something)
I've definitely had issues with daydreaming during class, but then is that bc of the pull to daydream or is it because I lost focus and my mind automatically switched to daydreaming? If I was to guess I'd say its been both at different times. Also once I've started daydreaming it becomes hard to stop, so maybe initially my mind is just wandering, but then even after I check back into reality I feel the urge to return to my daydreams and find it really hard not to.
I just ignore that immersive vs maladaptive daydreaming post bc its so hard to tell the difference lol, knowing about the difference certainly doesn't help me in anyway
I hate online mental health quizzes that ask questions in a too rigid way, like I know there's only so much that can be said in an online quiz but its frustrating when the actual answer i want to give isnt there, and then I get a result that probably isn't reliable bc I couldnt answer properly
Also quizzes that ask questions about what others say/think about you, like how tf am I supposed to know. "Do others describe you as a daydreamer?" Others don't describe me as anything, how am I supposed to answer that
Just gonna go through this quiz I found under the cut because so much of it sucked
I only included questions i found problematic
Q1: my daydreams are about...
The options are "things that make me feel good at the time" "detailed stories and feelings" "money, sex, life"
Immediate issue for me is that all my daydreams make me feel good at the time, usually my daydreams are based around whatever gives me the biggest kick of intense emotions. These aren't always positive emotions but it feels good to feel them. And they are always very detailed and emotional. Also, it doesn't ring true for me but someone could easily have detailed emotional stories about money/sex/life that make them feel good. But you can only pick one of these options, and one of them is seen as being more indicative of MD, which doesn't make sense.
Q3: do you often create characters and give them detailed backstories
The variety of experiences with MaDD and the source of characters in daydreams is far too varied for this to be any sort of determining question in whether someone has MaDD. Some people do make up entire casts of characters, but some people dream about already existing characters, some people daydream about real life people. Two people could both definitely have MD and answer this question completely different
Q5: have you ever felt like you can visualise your fantasies in real life
This is honestly just a very confusing question and I have no idea what they mean by "visualise in real life". Its very common for MD daydreams to be set entirely in a fantasy or fictional world so how exactly would they be visualised "in real life"? The thing that distinguishes MaDD from SCZ is that we are aware our daydreams dont actually exist, they are firmly located in the mental realm, MDers are more likely to dissociate and block out the world around them than to see their daydreams within the real world
Q7: do others call you a daydreamer
Like I said in the original post, this relies on knowing how other people describe you, this is particularly difficult for people who aren't very social, and not being very social is one of the main characteristics of MaDD. Additionally, a lot of MDers will keep their daydreaming habits well hidden and only really done in private. For the times we do daydream in public, we'd probably be more likely to be described as "spacey" or zoned out than "a daydreamer".
What if you couldn’t dream anymore. How hurtful would it be to you?
The answers to this question were "it would be very hurtful", "it would be not very pleasant", and "it would kill me"
These are ridiculous answers, not only is one question poorly worded ("it would be not very pleasant"? Just say unpleasant), but two of the answers could essentially be perceived as having the same meaning, "it would be hurtful to me" "it wouldn't be pleasant". As for "it would kill me" its just far too dramatised. The fact this is most likely seen as one of the most positive indicating answers in this question means it implies that to truly have MaDD you must be borderline suicidal over your daydreams, to the point that you may actually die if you weren't able to do it. "I'd feel like im going to die" would be a better answer here but even then its still way too dramatic, it sounds like something you'd see in a buzz feed quiz, not whats supposed to be a fully MDS based quiz.
Would you rather have enough time to dive into your fantasies instead of going out or working?
This question is okay but I still feel like there's too much vagueness and room for variability in that question, which the answers obviously don't allow for. For me personally I'd like to have the time to do all the things I want to do. Id like to have time to daydream and get work done and go out and see people. I dont have that time though, and whether I'd pick a daydream over other obligations depends on the intensity of the daydream and what the other obligation is.
Q11: Would you like to live in a simulator that allows you to create your reality?
Just felt like a pretty bizarre question to me, I'm aware some people would rather live in their daydreams than real life but my daydreams dont really involve me most of the time, so how would being in a simulator even work? Besides I like the control i have over the events within the daydreams, this wouldn't really work in a simulator. And I dont personally hate every part of my life, I would never want to actually entirely give up my real life for my daydreams
Q13: How sad or mad are you when someone interrupts your daydreaming?
This is just another one where the answer is too complicated for a simple yes or no, the simplest answer i could give is "it depends" but that wasn't an option on this quiz.
Q14: Have you ever lied to others so you could have time to daydream?
I honestly just don't have good enough memory for this one, it could use a "dont know" answer option
Do you think daydreaming stops you from working or studying?
This one was difficult for me bc while my daydreams dont usually stop me working, they have interfered at times. The issue is that there are other factors that stop me working, so if im not working in the first place then daydreams can't really stop me from working. (For example, I have adhd, and tend to put any work or projects off until the last minute because I cant motivate myself to do them until that point, so even if I daydream during this period, its not the daydreaming that stops me from working)
Have you ever missed an opportunity in your life due to your fantasies?
I really didn't know how to answer this. I dont know what opportunities its referring to, I assume it means like job promotions or going to college or a big relationship or whatever but I havent had many big opportunities in life. I got into university but I dont think it had anything to do with my daydreaming or lack thereof. I didnt do amazing in school but I did well enough to get into to uni on a lowered grade offer (bc I come from a poor area). So really I was just lucky there. And I havent had any proper jobs or relationships so no missed opportunities in that respect.
Q19: Do you consider daydreaming as something similar to therapy?
No because I'm a psychologist and I know very well that a coping mechanism isn't the same as therapy and in general nothing maladaptive is similar to therapy, maladaptive and therapeutic are practically antonyms. I see what this question is going for but the way they asked it is terrible.
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There was another question but I accidentally came off it and can't be bothered going all the way through just for one question. Anyway rant over.
I hate online mental health quizzes that ask questions in a too rigid way, like I know there's only so much that can be said in an online quiz but its frustrating when the actual answer i want to give isnt there, and then I get a result that probably isn't reliable bc I couldnt answer properly
Also quizzes that ask questions about what others say/think about you, like how tf am I supposed to know. "Do others describe you as a daydreamer?" Others don't describe me as anything, how am I supposed to answer that
Tumblrs new bug where it doesn't show what tags are on your post before you post it will be the death of me, I keep accidentally posting in random tags T.T
I lied, I dont actually like sex. Put your clothes back on and listen to me explain the entire plot of my favourite show and then the entire plot of my favourite AU fanfiction based on that show and the the plot of the additional three volumes I made up in my head for that fanfiction
