Is Maladaptive Daydreaming a Sin?

[shadow6600]

I have something called Maladaptive Daydreaming, which is a condition of sorts where I would excessively daydream for hours. These daydreams are like a book in that they have a real plot, character, etc. I've been doing this since I was about 6 or 7 years old and I would daydream about my character being this demon of sorts and I would be fighting and killing other people and my I would put my friends in my daydreams as my allies. This also causes me to sin as I would sometime daydream about sexual fantasies. I find it hard to get up out of bed in the morning to do my quiet time, because when I wake up, I start to daydream again. And I can't get my homework or anything done most of the time because I would start moving and jumping around, daydreaming, and act out my character's facial expressions. One of my major triggers is music, and today God told me that I had to get rid of all of my music, on my cellphone, my computer, and on youtube, but I still find myself going back into daydreaming. I've been continuously praying to God to help me with this but nothing seems to be working.

 

[parsley]

I've always wondered about people who can zone out like that -- flashbacks of elementary school where teachers had to get students' attention. I didn't know it had a name -- thanks for informing.

Have you ever tried audio Bibles? Maybe that would trigger it too, but worth trying.

 

[shadow6600]

I've always wondered about people who can zone out like that -- flashbacks of elementary school where teachers had to get students' attention. I didn't know it had a name -- thanks for informing.

Have you ever tried audio Bibles? Maybe that would trigger it too, but worth trying.

Actually no I haven't, I don't know if it would trigger it or not, worth a try.

 

[Pal Handy]

I have something called Maladaptive Daydreaming, which is a condition of sorts where I would excessively daydream for hours. These daydreams are like a book in that they have a real plot, character, etc. I've been doing this since I was about 6 or 7 years old and I would daydream about my character being this demon of sorts and I would be fighting and killing other people and my I would put my friends in my daydreams as my allies. This also causes me to sin as I would sometime daydream about sexual fantasies. I find it hard to get up out of bed in the morning to do my quiet time, because when I wake up, I start to daydream again. And I can't get my homework or anything done most of the time because I would start moving and jumping around, daydreaming, and act out my character's facial expressions. One of my major triggers is music, and today God told me that I had to get rid of all of my music, on my cellphone, my computer, and on youtube, but I still find myself going back into daydreaming. I've been continuously praying to God to help me with this but nothing seems to be working.

Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Myers would be a good read for you.
I also recommend Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray.

 

[CounselorForChrist]

Wow.... I never realized this thing had a name. I'm kinda sad knowing then its what I had and why it happens. Being disabled and then bullied since very young I was very much to myself and shy. It was traumatic. Pulling out my hair from stress and meds. Having kids notice it and dump milk on me. Being laughed at for ticks or peeing myself. I felt so depressed.

So I spent my life into my 20s doing this "Maladaptive Daydreaming" thing. When I wasn't escaping into games I would just have an overactive imagination and daydream constantly. Sometimes for hours. Vivid dreams like picturing enemies sitting on roofs with guns, cars chasing me down the driveway with bad guys in it...etc. And just like the poster I sometimes had sexual fantasies among other things. Most of it was probably related to me wanting to defend myself and have the mean people lose.

Looking into this more while reading this post it appears there are step systems to get rid of it. I must be odd then because after I changed my life and focused more on God this problem went away. And getting married changed it even more. I feel blessed then to realize God helped me while others are still getting help for it.

Thanks for this post Shadow. I will be praying for you!

 

[Follower3]

Sounds like we have a possible writer on our hands?
or perhaps an artist?

 

[parsley]

Having kids notice it and dump milk on me.

If it's any consolation, kids often do things that come to mind, without thinking how people will feel. They might have just been trying to wake you up in a creative way -- no harm intended.

Wow.... I never realized this thing had a name. I'm kinda sad knowing then its what I had and why it happens.

Isn't that amazing! We sometimes complain that so much money goes into research funding and pharmaceuticals, but it sure is nice to know that some physical-behavioral things do not match up with the intents of our hearts.

 

[shadow6600]

Wow.... I never realized this thing had a name. I'm kinda sad knowing then its what I had and why it happens. Being disabled and then bullied since very young I was very much to myself and shy. It was traumatic. Pulling out my hair from stress and meds. Having kids notice it and dump milk on me. Being laughed at for ticks or peeing myself. I felt so depressed.

So I spent my life into my 20s doing this "Maladaptive Daydreaming" thing. When I wasn't escaping into games I would just have an overactive imagination and daydream constantly. Sometimes for hours. Vivid dreams like picturing enemies sitting on roofs with guns, cars chasing me down the driveway with bad guys in it...etc. And just like the poster I sometimes had sexual fantasies among other things. Most of it was probably related to me wanting to defend myself and have the mean people lose.

Looking into this more while reading this post it appears there are step systems to get rid of it. I must be odd then because after I changed my life and focused more on God this problem went away. And getting married changed it even more. I feel blessed then to realize God helped me while others are still getting help for it.

Thanks for this post Shadow. I will be praying for you!

Thank you for your prayers, I think I got mine from being bullied, loneliness and emotional trauma, and it's nice to see that God has healed others of it.

Sounds like we have a possible writer on our hands?
or perhaps an artist?

I try, but everytime I try to write, I daydream more than doing the actual writing.


And also, I haven't daydreamed at all today. I got all my chores and homework done with no problem, Praise God!!!

 

[CounselorForChrist]

If it's any consolation, kids often do things that come to mind, without thinking how people will feel. They might have just been trying to wake you up in a creative way -- no harm intended.

Yep very true, when your older you realize kids just act like kids.

Isn't that amazing! We sometimes complain that so much money goes into research funding and pharmaceuticals, but it sure is nice to know that some physical-behavioral things do not match up with the intents of our hearts.

So true!

Thank you for your prayers, I think I got mine from being bullied, loneliness and emotional trauma, and it's nice to see that God has healed others of it.

Your welcome and yes it probably is where you got yours. I'm sure you will be healed of it too!

 

[znr]

I had this too when I was a teen. One good thing though, it's a sign of creativity. There was a lot of negative stuff in my house growing up, so habitual day dreaming and story making made sense. I guess now you can write a new plot and add some better characters that crush the demons.

 

[morio123]

I have a similar condition known as OCD. I would constantly have bad thoughts about killing or harming people. Of course I don't want to but they still sometimes becomes very distressing. Although they haven't left completely I have came to a point where I can mostly ignore them.

I would suggest getting Christian music or something positive for your thoughts. When these thoughts come up try to distract yourself or read the bible if you aren't working or at school. I was told to sing a obnoxious or soothing song into my head until I forget what I was even worrying about.

Something though is telling me that if you can give your thoughts to Jesus you can be able to live a peaceful life. Along with a peaceful mind you can channel your negative thoughts into good ones. You can also become a great writer if you can change your thinking. The road may be bumpy and I will pray for you but I know that by trusting Jesus you will make it through this mountain.

Btw : I wasn't trying to sound offensive . I know that you are trying to give your thoughts to Jesus. Joyce Myers battlefield of the mind is good too.

 

[Inkachu]

This is an old thread and who knows if the OP will even see it, but for whatever it's worth, I did the same thing all through my childhood and even into young adulthood (till about age 22). I don't know if I started it to "cope" with a dysfunctional childhood or not, but it's definitely been an avenue of creativity, since I've been writing stories since I was little, and I have an extremely vivid, visual imagination. I can literally see, hear, and feel things when I'm "in the zone".

I wonder at what point it becomes "maladaptive"? I guess when it interferes negatively with your daily life? I always found it very "adaptive", as it helped me to survive!

 

[shadow6600]

I still look at this thread, I'm kind of surprised that someone replied after such a long time. I'm still struggling, I tried to stop listening to music but when I did stop the daydreaming, I would sleep all the time. I think that's a withdrawal symptom, it's really bad since I need to get my online classes done and instead of daydreaming, I'm sleeping so I still get nothing done.

 

[Inkachu]

Shadow, have you been professionally diagnosed with this, or is it a self-diagnosis? Are you seeing a counselor or therapist? It's not normal or healthy for you to either be sleeping or daydreaming all the time. A little bit of daydreaming is normal and even fun, but if it's so invasive that you can't function without doing it (or the alternative is being unconscious aka asleep), something isn't right.

 

[shadow6600]

Shadow, have you been professionally diagnosed with this, or is it a self-diagnosis? Are you seeing a counselor or therapist? It's not normal or healthy for you to either be sleeping or daydreaming all the time. A little bit of daydreaming is normal and even fun, but if it's so invasive that you can't function without doing it (or the alternative is being unconscious aka asleep), something isn't right.

Self-diagnosis, Maladaptive Daydreaming is fairly new to the world of psychology so even if I go to somebody, 99% of the time they wouldn't know what it is. The only way people know they have it is by reading symptoms online and asking other people who have it. And it's called maladaptive daydreaming because it is invasive, and mine is pretty mild, I can daydream for about 5-8 hours straight. I have read stories of people who daydream for 10+ hours and neglect to even eat because they are so engrossed in their daydreams and have a very emotional attachment to their characters that, if they choose to kill a character off, they will cry as if it were an actual person they knew died, even they essentially made that character die. Thank God that mine's haven't gotten to that extent yet.

 

[Inkachu]

Self-diagnosis, Maladaptive Daydreaming is fairly new to the world of psychology so even if I go to somebody, 99% of the time they wouldn't know what it is. The only way people know they have it is by reading symptoms online and asking other people who have it. And it's called maladaptive daydreaming because it is invasive, and mine is pretty mild, I can daydream for about 5-8 hours straight. I have read stories of people who daydream for 10+ hours and neglect to even eat because they are so engrossed in their daydreams and have a very emotional attachment to their characters that, if they choose to kill a character off, they will cry as if it were an actual person they knew died, even they essentially made that character die. Thank God that mine's haven't gotten to that extent yet.

Do you think you could benefit from talking to someone about it?

 

[shadow6600]

I honestly don't know

 

[Inkachu]

I honestly don't know

Well, for whatever it's worth, and this is coming from someone who's been through depression, self-injury, tons of "maladaptive daydreaming", anxiety, and therapy... I think you should look into it. I'm not saying you'll wind up with a host of problems or mental illness. I'm saying I know where you are, cause I've been there. You talk about being in classes, so I'm guessing you're a young person. Have you talked to anyone about this? Parents, teachers, any adults? Does your family notice that you're so preoccupied and "unplugged" from the world around you? This type of behavior is normally a survival, escapism technique adopted by kids who've been through some kind of trauma or abuse.

 

[shadow6600]

I have told one of my teachers about and she has been accepting of it. I pretty sure my family notices it, but just doesn't know what to make of it. Maladaptive daydreaming usually comes with a repetitive movement, and mine is pacing and jumping. My little sister has seen my pace around and talk to my self when she hides in my room and I broke my bed and box spring a couple of years ago from jumping on it constantly.

 

[Inkachu]

I hope you'll find someone to talk to who has experience with this sort of thing. Maybe your school guidance counselor could suggest something.