Board index › General Discussion › General Autism Discussion

Maladaptive Daydreaming.

Page 2 of 3 [ 33 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

Previous topic | Next topic

fruitloop42
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 14 Nov 2017
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 65

16 Nov 2017, 1:06 pm

Trogluddite wrote:
I'd class the "scripting the future" type day-dreaming as maladaptive for me. It can consume huge amounts of my time, and sometimes leads to physical/mental exhaustion, either from pacing (usually on tiptoe), 'stressed out' posture, or interfering with my sleep. I know well enough after all these years, that two seconds into the real experience, not one of my "scripts" are still going to be on-course, and I don't believe that they have any power to influence reality. When I finally snap out of it, I want to curse myself for being so irrational. So, it is something I wish I had better control over, so that the time and energy could be better spent.


Yes this is true, the daydreams never really reflect the reality. Especially when social interactions are involved. I feel like for me the kind of "scripting the future" dreams help reduce anxiety because they convince me in advance that I can cope with whatever the situation is. But they do take a huge amount of time and they don't actually help to make the future go more smoothly or change its course in any way. I have thought before when I've really wanted something to happen I should stop daydreaming about it because then it never will!



fruitloop42
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 14 Nov 2017
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 65

16 Nov 2017, 1:11 pm

Often I struggle to have conversations without starting to daydream in the middle of them too. Even if I like the other person and I want to know what they have to say. I suddenly realize "oh no, I'm not listening to any of this!" and I have to hope I haven't missed anything important and that I wasn't looking glazed over or even amused/anxious etc etc depending on what the daydream is. If it's my mother or someone else who knows me well enough not to be offended or take it personally then I can tell them "I'm sorry, I forgot to listen. Please could you say that again?" But people do find that pretty irritating.



xatrix26
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Oct 2017
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 614
Location: Canada

16 Nov 2017, 8:08 pm

SaveFerris wrote:
emmasma wrote:
SaveFerris wrote:
HighLlama wrote:
Do any of you also become so involved in this daydreams that you make the gestures and facial expressions to go with them, as if you're having the conversation? My dad and I both do this.


Yup! And sometimes I speak the conversation ( my part ) out loud or part of it especially if it's conflict related. It something I only do it alone but occasionally a random word slips out - luckily no one has noticed.


This is just like me. I worry that I do this sometimes when people are around. I always catch myself making weird smirky faces at work and I know people must notice :oops:


I'm so anxious that everyone is going to think I'm a lunatic that it's like a survival skill to keep it hidden. When I am on top of my anxiety & depression ( not very often ) I am less self conscious about my behaviour.


ALL of the above applies to me precisely. I'm worried especially about workplace situations when my intense daydreaming and hand gestures might be noticed by my coworkers. Of course then my Autistic secret might get out and this dynamic turns very unpredictable in a job situation.

It is a cause of great concern for me. But I do it all anyways.


_________________
*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away. ;)