Maladaptive daydreaming


Maladaptive daydreaming, also known as excessive daydreaming, is a proposed diagnosis of a disordered form of dissociative absorption associated with excessive fantasy. It can result in distress, can replace human interaction and may interfere with normal functioning such as social life or work. Maladaptive daydreaming is not a widely recognised diagnosis and is not found in any major diagnostic manual of psychiatry or medicine. The person who coined the term is University of Haifa Professor Eli Somer. Somer's definition of the condition is “extensive fantasy activity that replaces human interaction and/or interferes with academic, interpersonal, or vocational functioning.” There has been limited research outside of Somer's.

Range of daydreaming

Many human experiences range between the normal and the abnormal. Daydreaming, a form of normal dissociation associated with absorption, is a highly prevalent mental activity experienced by almost everyone.
Some individuals reportedly possess the ability to daydream so vividly that they experience a sense of presence in the imagined environment. This experience is reported to be extremely rewarding to the extent that some of those who experience it develop a compulsion to repeat it that it has been described as an addiction.
Somer has proposed "stimuli" for maladaptive daydreams that may relate to specific locations. The main proposed symptom is extremely vivid fantasies with "story-like features", such as the daydream's characters, plots and settings.
Somer has argued that Maladaptive daydreaming is not a form of psychosis

Online support

Whilst maladaptive daydreaming is not a recognized psychiatric disorder, it has spawned online and real-world support groups since Somer first reported the proposed disorder in 2002.

Research

Maladaptive daydreaming is currently studied by a consortium of researchers from diverse countries including the USA, Poland, Switzerland and Israel.