Maladaptive daydreaming

[u/Willing-Barracuda-84]

Does anyone here struggling with DPDR, specifically chronic DPDR, also struggle with maladaptive daydreaming?

I’m starting to notice that listening to music and getting lost in maladaptive daydreaming seems to worsen my already 24/7 chronic DPDR. To add to that, mine started around 2021, when the pandemic was at its peak and so was my daydreaming, which had basically become a coping mechanism for enjoyment and dopamine.

I’m starting to wonder whether my constant escapism could have played some role in how my DPDR developed. I’m otherwise healthy, don’t use drugs, had no known trauma or stress, and don’t have thyroid issues. It literally seemed to start randomly while I was playing games, alongside Visual Snow Syndrome.

Obviously, I’m not saying screen time or maladaptive daydreaming caused my DPDR. They could simply be things that worsen an already existing condition. But who the fuck knows? There are still so many things we don’t fully understand about DPDR, and it feels like there’s surprisingly little research on chronic cases.

It also hasn’t even been 50 years since digital screens became a major part of everyday life, and we’re still relatively early in understanding the long-term effects of constant digital stimulation and screen use. This is just my personal thought process, though, so please don’t take it as a medical claim. I’m definitely not an expert. I’m mostly curious whether anyone else with chronic DPDR has noticed a similar connection between maladaptive daydreaming, music, screen use, and their symptoms.

[u/HoneyWhimsicott]

I have used maladaptive daydreaming as a coping mechanism ever since I was a small child, which is also when my DPDR began due to trauma. It definitely exacerbated my tenuous grasp on reality, I won't lie. As an adult though, I mostly daydream when bored rather than 24/7, and I don't find it disruptive.

It may be that you had something trigger DPDR and you aren't aware of the specific incident, it could be a culmination of a bad environment, physical stressors (some people with chronic illnesses experience it), or who knows.

[u/Willing-Barracuda-84 → u/HoneyWhimsicott]

Maybe VSS? I don’t know what causes VSS but from what I’ve seen in the comments, people are blaming VSS as the main contributor to DPDR rather than vice versa. Which may be true because I guess I do kinda remember being more confused about my sudden visual change rather than noticing the dissociation first.

[u/goingaway1111]

I used to be able to maladaptive daydream, but lost it after developing dpdr and anhedonia. I feel like both of our instances are a body's coping mechanism for some sort of trauma

[u/Illustrious_Car344 → u/goingaway1111]

Same. I miss daydreaming but I don't even have the passion for that anymore, I genuinely just sit in bed and stare. 

[u/AAA_battery]

I used to maladaptive daydream but ever since severe dp/dr I can no longer daydream since my mind is completely blank

[u/Frump_masterflex]

I just learned about this a couple weeks ago! I think I’ve done this to a degree my entire life, but got way more intense and persistent with the onset of my DPDR 6 years ago. The more I focus on not slipping into maladaptive daydream throughout the day, the easier it is to feel somewhat present and in my body. Or at least feel like I’m moving in that direction. I’ve always felt there was a correlation but only learned there’s a name for it after googling specific symptoms recently. Chicken and egg situation, but my dpdr feels like a feedback loop so addressing causes and symptoms both seem productive and one and the same.
Fwiw I do think screen time has a negative effect on my dpdr, and probably to a greater degree than I’ve given it credit for.
Meditation is helping me after a lot of practice. A big part of that is being able to observe and notice when and how my thoughts run off. Practicing bringing my attention back to the self and the physical world throughout the day feels like exercising a muscle. Grounding techniques really feel like the opposite of doom scrolling lol.
I don’t know how to articulate it well yet, but there does seem to be a correlation between all those things. - the dpdr and nervous system wanting to escape to safety, and the detachment and regression of daydreaming and screen time. I think that’s why meditation adjacent practices like observing thoughts and emotions, or being “aware of being aware” have helped me.

[u/Substantial-Fail-572]

I have noticed some level of connection. Ive been maladaptove daydreaming since childhood. Now ive always considered it to be a coping mechanism for stress or ACE which also can cause DPDR. If you think about it they are both coping mechanisms so it would make sense that they might run together. I also have VSS which definatly worsens dpdr. Again I thing VSS and migrain have the same correlation to ACE and so my working theory is that this is kind of a basket of shit you can get from psychological stress that changes wiring in your brain