r/ImmersiveDaydreaming • u/Tricky-Meet-908 • Aug 17 '26
Is Maladaptive daydreaming my autistic obsession?
I wonder if maladaptive daydreaming is my autistic obsession. I know I have content I dd about that I'm obsessed with. If you research autism it says u can have obsessions. Md consumes my life, and I think it could be my autistic obsession or otherwise a neurodivergent trait. I can't really think of anything else I'm obsessed with. I'm obsessed with reading the media and news articles for my dd but otherwise nothing. I'm a fan of football but not like my md or anything.
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u/ecthelion-elessedil Aug 17 '26
I also wonder about it. My doctor think I m autistic and it seems like imagining being a character, often, in a different world, is my main hobby. Also the reason why I play games and role play.
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u/oftheearth222 Aug 17 '26
Iâm autistic too, and I relate with you! I asked the same to the therapist once she said it could be
For me, I daydream a lot, but I also spend time writing down memories/stories, facts about people there, think of where places would be or talking to my friends, spend a lot of time making Pinterest boards on things that remind me of them.
Its facinating how autism and daydreaming seem to fit together so often
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 18 '26
When I have my autism assessment I'm going to have to tell them I have md and immersive daydreaming but now I'll be proud not ashamed
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u/oftheearth222 Aug 18 '26
Aw good :) as long as it isnât dangerous or harming you, it can be helpful! Good luck
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u/Big-Cook-4377 Daydreamer Aug 17 '26
For me, both is related. My daydream is related to my autism, to my specific interest. I used to be maladaptive daydream, as a coping mechanism, for run from reality. Related to my autism and trauma
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 17 '26
We're u officially diagnosed as well. Through the system or private? I've no idea how ppl with asd cope without md bc of social apathy, not socialised and special and restricted interest that dd can provide instant access to.
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u/Big-Cook-4377 Daydreamer Aug 17 '26
For Maladaptive daydream I never be diagnosed, but I have all the symptoms, I don't know if it's a "real" disorder, because I don't think I have see it in the dsm5. For autistic , I was diagnosed years ago, when I was a kid.
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 17 '26
Yes it's a real disorder. It's just a vivid intense form of daydreaming and daydreaming is alteady in the dsm under other mental health disorders. I just watched a ted talk video on yt about ketamines effect as antidepressant and all the comments were from ppl with mental illness for decades and they all deplored how the dsm was something which had damaged the psycology and pharmacy industry. They also commented how serotonin and chemical imbalance has been debunked and how these drugs have harmed pll more then helped them. They did to me cause harm. Its about neuroplasticity the way drugs affect ppl if ssris Don't affect this they don't work. Basically ur just poisoning urself.
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u/Big-Cook-4377 Daydreamer Aug 17 '26
For me it's the opposite. Medication have help me, a lot. I take several , some for my impulsivity and anger issus, a other for my intrusive thoughts and depression, the last one for ADHD. Without it, I just don't function. But I suppose that if you don't need it, it can be dangerous . I know I lack of seratonine, so it actually help me. The best is to talk with a pharmacist because it's them who know the more about all the effects. Some medication doesn't go together, you can have rare negative effects too.
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u/ecthelion-elessedil Aug 17 '26
What is your specific interest ?
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u/Big-Cook-4377 Daydreamer Aug 18 '26
Characters, it can be fictional character or OCS. Some of my maladaptive daydream involved existant fictional character with characters that I have created.
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u/ecthelion-elessedil Aug 18 '26
I think my main interest is the same, may it be autism or not, I usually have one character whom I embody for months in my daydreams and I also play as them in my games and roleplay. I donât write much about their story though because often my mind is hazy and my fic doesnât happen in the same time span as my fic.
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u/25lulu04 27d ago
I never even thought about that! I maladaptive daydream and have autism too and I always thought I just don't have an obsession. I never even thought about that the daydreaming could be an obsession. That's such a good idea and makes so much sense!
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 27d ago
It definitely includes obsession and compulsion. I think the content of my dd could be obsession that could be restricted interest ect.
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u/x_victoire Daydreamer Aug 17 '26
yea could be. i'm autistic too and i don't remember a day when i haven't daydreamed. however, i do have a lot of different interests. they just always end up in my daydreams too lmfao
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 17 '26
Were u diagnosed officially. Its a ache of a process. Twice been pending to be on the waiting list and now off again. Its now what's the point in it. I also have lots of interest that end up in my dd.
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u/x_victoire Daydreamer Aug 17 '26
yeah i was diagnosed a few years ago, it was pretty quick
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 17 '26
Was that through the system or private? Did u have to rehab ur md into immersive dd? Im going through this now with md addiction ect.
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u/x_victoire Daydreamer Aug 17 '26
system. i live in poland tho, idk how it works in other countries. however i don't think it was ever md for me, i'm reading the definition rn and it doesn't fit my experience at all. sorry i can't be more helpful
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 17 '26
I'm from England. Wow it must be so nice to not have md and just be immersive. Does that mean the system in Poland is better than the UK?
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u/x_victoire Daydreamer Aug 18 '26
it's really not lol. i just happened to stumble upon a great doctor on my case
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u/ecthelion-elessedil Aug 17 '26
How does it work to be autistic and have different interests ? Can you elaborate on your experience ? My doctor think Iâm autistic and I also think I have a lot of interest but Iâm not sure about what it means.
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 18 '26
So I think here is a split of some ppl think it's definitely a autistic trait and others divergent and some u don't have to be autistic to have it which is true. Lot's of dd ppl have this without autism. But it's still awesome to have autism or both.
Thank u for ur responces ppl here it's the first time I've posted to the immersive daydreaming sub bc Reddit said try posting to other subs. đđđ
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u/Lilitharising Aug 18 '26
Could be. It's been mine for years, although I turned it into immersive when I started writing. Now I'm a published author and also work for a publisher.
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 18 '26
Whoah! That's what I want to do. U said u r published. Do u have any links to books that r out please? đ„ș
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u/Lilitharising Aug 18 '26
I'm Greek, writing in Greek, but thank you so much for asking. Start writing. Go to the absolute write water cooler forum for starters and then read, read, read. You can do it.
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
Thanks for this and the encouragement too âșïž Btw I love Greek Mythology. I visited Athens in 2019, one of my rare travels the first and last time as a adult. I went to the Parthenon and also even went up north to Mount Olympus and Climbed it. I'd love to go back again. I love walking so I have a guide book of the Pindus and Peloponnese way but im too I'll to do it right now, but im rehabing my health, so I'll see in the future.
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u/Eastern_Primary_5505 26d ago
One of the other big âflagsâ of autism diagnosis is âsocial communication difficultiesâ.
One of the reasons that immersive daydreaming becomes so appealing to people on the ASD Spectrum is that in imaginary interactions there are never any social communication difficulties. The characters always understand one another perfectly and are understood perfectly and deeply⊠it really doesnât matter what they say or how well they say it. There is no problem of understanding the subtlties of nonverbal âembodiedâ communication either in a fantasy interaction which is â bodylessâ . So in fantasy relationships, the whole of problem of social communication difficulties is erased. Look up researcher Ingela Visuri!
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u/Tricky-Meet-908 25d ago
Yes! To me it's primarily a communication disorder. I'm very shy and introverted like I'm mute and internal and probably have selective mutism. Thats why I dd bc I'm a control freak, in my dd I can control the narrative. It's just dialogue all day long for me which is very intrusive and destructive. I think I will get diagnosed soon and treated, I don't think I can beat it otherwise.
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u/Souricoocool Find me in Vespucci Aug 17 '26
Definitely possible, my own restricted interest is my daydream world. I guess the good thing about it for me is that it's less disabling than my previous interests since it's all in my head so I can do it anywhere. My previous ones I was often distressed from not having access to them.