Comments on: Daydreaming, Escapism, and PTSD

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:11:29 +0000

Such a pity how so many of you view yourselves as “f*cked up” and “mentally ill” for doing something as innocent as daydreaming. There is no shame in what you’re doing… we all have our own ways of coping with the world we live in, and with the experiences we’ve had in life. You obviously derive a kind of peace and enjoyment in daydreaming that you can’t salvage from reality… so you should revel in your daydreaming, rather than let the judgments of a cold, overly rational society dictate what is “best” for you and how you live from day-to-day.

It’s ironic, how we live in a society so fixated on peoples’ “rights”… yet we’re branded “maladapted” and “mentally ill” when we seek mere respite from the numerous stresses and burdens it places upon us from the cradle to the grave. It’s well within your rights to “escape” if that’s what you desire… and any who would question you, or shame you for your “laziness” and “unproductivity” are full of themselves. Remember… you’re a human being, not a worker in a bee colony! Set the petty judgments of others aside and live by your own rules.

By: celexa and strattera together

celexa and strattera together — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:22:45 +0000

3DY6YY yes, as usual the Bootcamp

By: Anon E. Mouse

Anon E. Mouse — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:19:10 +0000

I daydream all the time and create intricate fantasies of a life I wished I lived. My mom thinks that I have this magnificent creative ability, which points towards a writing profession, but really I’d rather function fictitiously in my head than associate with people in reality. I spend hours, sometimes the whole day in bed with my thoughts. I have everything I could ever want, and there is no one there to stand in my way or hinder my ability to gt it. It’s my reality.

I stopped going to classes, interacting with my peers, family, friends, and have let my responsibilities slide. I realize that this is probably detrimental to my health, but I don’t know what to do. I have undiagnosed social phobia and often feel like an outcast amongst my peers. I also struggle with depressive episodes and have since I was 13 (20 now). I went to seek counseling for a situation-related, stress inducing event and was told that I may have dsythmia.

I just feel like I have a bunch of mental disorders and am probably the most f*cked up person in the world. It’s this cyclical behaviour that often brings me into depressive episodes in the first place. Anyways, sorry about the essay…daydreams are my escape; there where I feel free, happy, and fulfilled.

By: gena

gena — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:13:55 +0000

My daughter died Dec. 29, 2009..she was four months old. i have three other daughters and my husband. Since this happened i have what i call “uncontrollable daydreams. Example, my husband and daughters will be leaving to go somewhere and as they pull away I see them getting into a horrible accident and its very graphic. my daughter can be walking down stairs and i see her falling and breaking her bones. Please help me figure out something to do to stop this.

By: Jess

Jess — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:07:23 +0000

Daydreaming and escapism is definatly a result of PTSD. When your in a tricky situation you have to rack your brain in order to figure a way of getting out and also not getting hurt. People are unpredictable and can flip at any point, having to think that quick on your feet is demanding for anyone yet as child can be absolutly terrifying, now I know why my dog is so pissed off, he’s very small. For example as mentioned above, its starts in childhood (daydreaming, an imagination), I think some people forget they used to have one. I get very funny looks and comments, but I know what it is, I know what I’m doing its just people dont like what they dont understand – they get scared. Although PTSD is an absolute pain, I would never take my daydreams away, my imagination is really good and very vivid. As an “artist” to slip back into a fanatasy I think is a very handy creative talent and even better when you start learning how to use it. Allow of course I would love to get rid of the others or the effect of them but Iv’e come to the conclusion that its all just dependant on your “fight or flight” , learned behaviour, troublesome but my anixety has served me well, keeps you alert, cant miss a thing although another point to much obervation makes you tired and you kick yourself when you miss things.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:46:54 +0000

I daydream a lot too. I have never heard of Maladaptive daydreaming but I am going to check into it. I believe there are a few reasons why I day dream so much. It did start when I was little. I did not have a good childhood and I think it was my way of dealing with that. It carried over into adulthood. Because of the childhood I had, I have self-esteem issues. I can talk to people but I have never been the social butterfly. Often I feel akward, even though I know no one is better than anyone else. I’m not a recluse. I have a good job and I get along well with everyone there and I have two children but I feel this has held me back in many other areas of life. I think I’m going to take the advise you gave Tiffany and talk to someone about it.

By: Fabio

Fabio — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:17:12 +0000

Tiffany, I doubt you aren’t smart. You certainly sound like a very clever and interesting person! Maybe it is because you daydream a lot that people think that you aren’t able to concentrate on what they expect you to understand. I don’t really know you personally, but I also doubt that no one has ever shown interest on getting to know you! Actually, I feel the same way as you do, I worry quite a lot about improving my appearance, but that never seems to suffice to catch people’s attention. Though I’ve heard that people often show interest on me and I never notice it, maybe because I daydream too much. I’m not sure if it’s true for me, but it may be the case for you!

By: james

james — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:15:01 +0000

hi tiffany can i have your email address. Im sure i can help you.

By: Jane Long

Jane Long — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:07:54 +0000

My son is 30 years old and has had two marriages that ended in divorces,he has a son from each marriage. He has nothing to do with them. He can not hold a job, he says that he is looking but he has a lot of excuses when we ask him if he has been looking.
in July he went into the air force and went through boot camp, he is (was) in the reserves and is now getting kicked out of that due to bills, and his driving record, I think that his lack of paying child also did not help.
He is a twin his brother was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder,I have it besides ptsd. My husband is a viet nam vet he has sever ptsd, depression,and serious health problems. Dad would go into temper session yell,cuss and sometimes hit the boys. Charles was the one who was upset the most. He got to where he would not ask dad for help on homework. Charles graduated second to last in high school, he went to college to become a cop. He took a course to become a prison guard, that did not work. He entered another college in there police school and got kicked out of that. He is a very smart man he was when he was younger.
He is living with his soon to be wife. He called us and wanted to borrow are car “so he could look for a job” dad told him that he had it for a couple of months and did not look for a job.
I know that being bi-polar is not easy. Something is wrong with him.

By: Webmaster at Daydreamingdisorder

Webmaster at Daydreamingdisorder — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:13:13 +0000

Hi Tiffany,

It’s hard to say what is exactly going on with you. You could have Maladaptive Daydreaming (but please realize that this disorder is not yet recognized by the medical community.) Here is my site about MD:

http://www.daydreamingdisorder.webs.com/

You might want to join the Yahoo forum for this problem and compare your symptoms to others:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/maladaptivedaydreamers/

You could also write Dr. Cynthia Schupak, who just finished the first clinical study on this problem (cschupak@aol.com)

However, your best bet might be to go to a good therapist, tell them everything, and see what they think. Good luck, hon.