Everyone can daydream, it is something we develop since childhood – but some people can experience their presence in a new environment they have created. Even though it is more common than we can think, some individuals, based on many factors, may suggest a psychiatric disorder – called maladaptive daydreaming. Scientists believe it is a behavioral addiction because the subject tends to switch between reality and their desired alternate universe, for more than 60% of their waking hours.
MD is a form of dissociating oneself from the real world, preferring fantasies over reality. This way, a person can create elaborate alternative universes, based on complex scenarios. It is considered to be a disorder because it interferes with the individual's social, academic, or professional life.
To diagnose this disease the Somer’s Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS) is used–this is a 14 point scale that rates the five primary characteristics of this condition. The following primary characteristics are:
1. Content and quality (detail) of dreams;
2. Individual’s ability to control their dreams and/or the compulsion to dream;
3. Amount of distress caused by daydreaming;
4. Individual’s perceived benefits of daydreaming;
5. Extent of interference of daydreaming with the individual’s ability to carry out their daily activities.
Experts say that the environment created by the maladaptive daydreamer is their safe space, that protects them from loneliness, abuse, trauma, or from times of distress. They believe it is more of a coping mechanism, that responds to unsolved trauma. For some time, their alternate reality is an escape, that saves them from interactions with the real world – an escapist method. The people suffering from this disorder also have a history of depression and/or anxiety.
This mental illness is classified as a neural biochemical imbalance, and not an addictive symptom because it hasn't been studied enough and isn't recognized by many psychologists. It is believed that talk therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy can also reduce the need of slipping into oneself imagination. In terms of medications, the drug used to reduce the effects of OCD, fluvoxamine, can also help to control MD. Over the years, through the internet, there have been created groups of support for self-diagnosed maladaptive daydreamers and even a petition back in 2014, launched to urge the APA (American Psychiatric Association) to acknowledge MD.
Even though it is not widely recognized, it needs to be treated as any other disorder. There are plenty of ways to cope with trauma, some more harmful than others. Because of its addictive nature, it can be as harmful as some other coping mechanisms, by limiting social interaction and being out of touch with reality. This mental illness deserves as much recognition as any other one, but it is, indeed, a long way until it’ll be categorized as one.
Editor
Cesara Andronic
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