Is Maladaptive Daydreaming a Sin?

[shadow6600]

I hope so too, but if this were accepted as a mental illness and is as widely know as ADHD, I wouldn't have a problem finding help. But with something like this, people will not really take it seriously and it will be a case of "why don't you just do your work?"

 

[Lady M.]

Hi shadow6600. I've read your post on your Maladaptive Day-dreaming disorder. I'm looking for help myself. I would like to know if you have succeeded in beating this disorder. I've been day-dreaming for at least 40 years. I have done everything I know to stop day-dreaming and I haven't been able to. I've prayed, and continue to do so. I sought and continue to seek the Lord, read Christian books, go to counseling, and I'm on meds. My day-dreaming is exactly like a book, but it is about a Christian woman and her encounters with life; so hearing Christian music doesn't help. The Lord has revealed some of the reasons why I dream. I just can't kick the habit. Do you still have maladaptive day-dreaming? I hope to hear from you.

 

[Greg J.]

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.

I've had a version of this my whole life. It doesn't happen when I'm doing things that demand my full attention (like starting a machine that can chew a limb off). It happens pretty easily when I'm not under any time pressure and reading fiction. I haven't found it to be a problem, except for the serious problem of the consequences of being less interactive with people.

It implies a predisposition for creativity, but producing story-like ideas is only square one for accomplishing anything.

 

[Lady M.]

So, maybe writing down my story-like ideas would be square two? I could do this. I hope this helps.

The daydreaming is frustrating because I am less interactive with my loved ones and don't have a healthy relationship with them. Also, I find myself laughing and talking to myself. My kids often remark, "Mami, is talking to herself again." I afraid people may think I'm crazy.