Exploring the nexus between childhood adversities, trauma-related fantasy and memory in maladaptive daydreaming.

We conducted a qualitative study investigating traumatic daydreaming themes among individuals with maladaptive daydreaming (MD). Forty-one participants were interviewed regarding connections between their traumatic daydreams and real-life adversity. Specifically, we asked participants about 1) childhood trauma experiences, 2) trauma-related daydreaming, 3) perceived relationships between such daydreams and authentic experiences, and 4) difficulty distinguishing traumatic memories originating from daydreams versus actual events.

When Imagination Feels Like Reality: A Case Study of False Memories and Maladaptive Daydreaming in Visual Impairment.

Background: When a person experiences maladaptive daydreaming (MD), they spend a prolonged period daydreaming with a strong sense of presence. The symptoms of MD are often excessive, interfere with functioning, and are linked to distress and comorbid mental disorders. In this paper, apparent false memory is described in the context of a woman with MD and visual impairment due to a progressive eye condition.

Intense Imagery Movements May Lead to Maladaptive Daydreaming: A Case Series and Literature Review.

Background: This case series highlights the connection between childhood intense imagery movements (IIM) and adult-reported maladaptive daydreaming (MD). Motor stereotypies occur in typically developing children and also with co-occurring neurodevelopmental differences. A subgroup with complex motor stereotypies reports accompanying intense imagery, often enhanced by the movements.

Immersive and maladaptive daydreaming and divergent thinking in autism spectrum disorders.

Little is known about the internal mental experiences of individuals with ASD. While some research suggests a limited capacity for imagination, other studies show heightened interest in fantasy and unique forms of creative thinking in ASD. This study explored daydreaming experiences in adults with ASD, with a focus on immersive daydreaming and its relation to divergent thinking abilities.

Mindfulness meditation and self-monitoring reduced maladaptive daydreaming symptoms: A randomized controlled trial of a brief self-guided web-based program.

Objective: Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is a compulsive form of daydreaming that causes distress and functional impairment. We present the first treatment trial for MD.

Method: We tested the effectiveness of an eight-session internet-based self-help training for mindfulness and self-monitoring and compared three groups across three measurement points in time.

Could immersive daydreaming underlie a deficit in attention? The prevalence and characteristics of maladaptive daydreaming in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Objective: Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) entails excessive immersion and engagement in complex fantasy worlds, causing distress and impairing functioning. Maladaptive Daydreamers often report that existing diagnostic labels are unhelpful for them. Previous studies reported high rates of comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among persons with MD, raising the question of their separateness.

Reality shifting: psychological features of an emergent online daydreaming culture.

Reality shifting (RS) is a trendy mental activity that emerged abruptly following the flare-up of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and seems to be practiced mainly by members of the post-millennial generation. RS, described as the experience of being able to transcend one's physical confines and visit alternate, mostly fictional, universes, is discussed by many on Internet platforms. One RS forum boasts over 40,000 members and RS clips on some social media platforms have been viewed over 1.

Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, individuals with or without mental disorders may resort to dysfunctional psychological strategies that could trigger or heighten their emotional distress. The current study aims to explore the links between maladaptive daydreaming (MD, i.e.

Maladaptive Daydreaming and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: A confirmatory and exploratory investigation of shared mechanisms.

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a newly proposed mental disorder characterized by excessive, vivid fantasy activity impairing functioning. There is a high comorbidity of MD with Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Symptoms (OCSS), yet the mechanisms responsible for this relationship are still unclear. The present study set out to explore the relationship between MD and OCSS by: (1) examining dissociation, trauma, sense of control, and mind-wandering as potential mediators; (2) exploring whether MD is more strongly related to obsessions or compulsions; and (3) identifying patterns of specific obsessions and/or compulsions common in an MD sample.

Heightened Levels of Maladaptive Daydreaming Are Associated With COVID-19 Lockdown, Pre-existing Psychiatric Diagnoses, and Intensified Psychological Dysfunctions: A Multi-country Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading globally since December 2019, bringing with it anxieties, mortal risk, and agonizing psychological suffering. This study aimed to explore the relationship between maladaptive daydreaming (MD)-an addictive mental behavior to vivid fantasy associated with distress and functional impairment-and forced COVID-19 pandemic-related self-isolation and quarantine. Previous literature indicated that individuals employ MD for the regulation of distress and boredom, wish fulfillment, and entertainment experiences.

Different cultures, similar daydream addiction? An examination of the cross-cultural measurement equivalence of the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale.

Background And Aims: Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a proposed mental disorder, in which absorption in rich, narrative fantasy becomes addictive and compulsive, resulting in emotional, social, vocational, or academic dysfunction. Most studies on MD were carried out on aggregated international samples, using translated versions of the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16). However, it is unknown whether the properties of MD are affected by culture.

Childhood Trauma and Maladaptive Daydreaming: Fantasy Functions and Themes In A Multi-Country Sample.

We analyzed responses of 539 adults who met an evidence-based criterion for probable maladaptive daydreaming (MD). Their reported childhood traumata were associated with the utilization of MD to distract from painful memories. A history of childhood physical and emotional neglect as well as emotional abuse was associated with daydreaming aimed to regulate emotional pain.

Maladaptive daydreaming and emotional regulation difficulties: A network analysis.

This study explored the network structure of Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD), and links between MD and emotional regulation difficulties. Participants (n = 542) completed an online survey on MD and emotional regulation difficulties. Two network models were estimated.

A daily diary study on maladaptive daydreaming, mind wandering, and sleep disturbances: Examining within-person and between-persons relations.

Cross-sectional and experimental research have shown that task-unrelated thoughts (i.e., mind wandering) relate to sleep disturbances, but there is little research on whether this association generalizes to the day-level and other kinds of task-unrelated mentation.

Self-Reported Medication and Recreational Drug Effectiveness in Maladaptive Daydreaming.

Maladaptive daydreaming is a proposed disorder characterized by excessive daydreaming that causes subjective distress and/or interferes with function. The daydreaming involves complex inner worlds, characters, and plots that are understood by the person as fantasy, and the daydreaming may occupy many hours per day. The disorder has good reliability and validity in studies using a structured interview and a self-report measure developed for it.

Maladaptive Daydreaming Is Associated With Intensified Psychosocial Problems Experienced by Female Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

We measured maladaptive daydreaming (MD) and psychosocial indices among 194 participants, aged 18-56  years: 99 female survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and 95 control respondents with no reported history of sexual abuse. Our data show that survivors of CSA scored higher on MD compared to controls. Survivors of CSA with probable MD scored higher on psychological distress, social phobia, and social isolation compared to survivors of CSA without suspected MD, implying that MD might exacerbate the psychosocial problems linked with CSA.

Incidence and Clinical Features of Panic Related Posttraumatic Stress.

The current study assessed the incidence and associated features of posttraumatic stress after the experience of panic. One hundred seventy-eight participants meeting diagnostic criteria for panic attacks (PAs) were assessed using standardized measures of posttraumatic symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in specific reference to their experience of panic. Sixty-three (35.

Trapped in a Daydream: Daily Elevations in Maladaptive Daydreaming Are Associated With Daily Psychopathological Symptoms.

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) characterizes individuals who engage in vivid, fanciful daydreaming for hours on end, neglecting real-life relationships and responsibilities, resulting in clinical distress and functional impairment. Sufferers have embraced the term MD in cyber-communities devoted to this problem because it seemed to uniquely fit their experience and since existing diagnostic labels and their therapies seemed inadequate. However, scientific research in the field has been scarce, relying on cross-sectional or case study designs.

Trauma, attachment style, and somatization: a study of women with dyspareunia and women survivors of sexual abuse.

Background: Evidence points toward shared characteristics between female survivors of sexual abuse and women with dyspareunia. This study explored, for the first time, similarities and differences between women who were exposed to sexual abuse to those with dyspareunia, in order to examine whether insecure attachment styles and high somatization level are associated with trauma among women with dyspareunia.

Methods: Attachment styles were explored using the Experience in Close Relationships Scale to reflect participants' levels of anxiety and avoidance.

The Comorbidity of Daydreaming Disorder (Maladaptive Daydreaming).

To determine the comorbidity profile of individuals meeting criteria for a proposed new disorder, daydreaming disorder (more commonly known as maladaptive daydreaming [MD]), the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders were administered to 39 participants who met criteria for MD on a structured interview. We determined high rates of comorbidity: 74.4% met criteria for more than three additional disorders, and 41.

Reliability of the Dissociative Trance Disorder Interview Schedule: A preliminary report.

One hundred inpatients in a hospital-based Trauma Program in the USA were interviewed with the Dissociative Trance Disorder Interview Schedule (DTDIS). There were no significant differences for the DTDIS total score or any of the subscale scores on test-retest: all t-values comparing the two administrations of the DTDIS were below 0.7, and all p-values were above 0.

Maladaptive daydreaming: Evidence for an under-researched mental health disorder.

This study explores the recently described phenomenon of Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) and attempts to enhance the understanding of its features. It documents the experiences of 340 self-identified maladaptive daydreamers who spend excessive amounts of time engaged in mental fantasy worlds, in comparison to 107 controls. Our sample included a total of 447 individuals, aged 13-78, from 45 countries who responded to online announcements.

Childhood Antecedents and Maintaining Factors in Maladaptive Daydreaming.

This study explored the fantasy activity of 16 individuals who were seeking online peer-support and advice for maladaptive daydreaming (MD). MD is an under-researched mental activity described as persistent vivid fantasy activity that replaces human interaction and/or interferes with important areas of functioning. We employed a grounded theory methodology that yielded seven common themes presented as a sequential descriptive narrative about the nature, precursors, and consequences of MD.

Parallel lives: A phenomenological study of the lived experience of maladaptive daydreaming.

This qualitative study describes the lived experience of maladaptive daydreaming (MD), an excessive form of unwanted daydreaming that produces a rewarding experience based on a created fantasy of a parallel reality associated with a profound sense of presence. A total of 21 in-depth interviews with persons who self-identified as struggling with MD were analyzed utilizing a phenomenological approach. Interviewees described how their natural capacity for vivid daydreaming had developed into a time-consuming habit that resulted in serious dysfunction.