Being in your own world

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The real world is impossible to tolerate without the aforementioned mindscape. When the weather outside is "frightful", I can light up the corners of my mind.

When doing mundane tasks, I retreat to the mindscape. Fictional worlds in a way are more important to me than the real one.

NTs see this as a fatal flaw. So do I. But I can't change it. Without protection of the mindscape, the nature of this reality hits me with great power. Too great to survive its tidal wave.

I'm an NT who's always spent a lot of time in my own world. As a child I could be just sitting staring out into nothingness while I was relaxing inside my own thoughts, if you know what I mean. My mum used to see this, and sometimes she'd say: "Are you in there, sweetie? Ok, you just stay there."

I don't know what it is about painting and vacuuming (probably the physical activity with no mental challenge) but i end up creating huge entire fictional worlds and roleplay scenerios, starting from the most inconsiquential thought. When I've finished the task i almost feel disapointed that i have to leave it and that this creation of mine won't be recorded anywhere or seen by anyone. I can't remember most of them but once i played out an entire court case including witness cross examination, verdict and sentancing. Interestingly of course it all follows my idea of what is right and fair, I wonder if it's my way of playing out something in my head to decide an opinion on it or how i feel about it.

I sometimes get knocked out of my world by "writing" myself into a corner and i don't know the answer or next step, so i can't make it up, then i realise it's all fake.

the thrust of my interest in anyone elses consciousness is insufficient for me to attain an escape velocity from my own world of private subjectivity.

Staring at cars outside rather than listen to conversations that happen inside the car? I did that all the time.

I have trouble keeping my focus when somebody is talking to me. I want to listen and I try to listen, but I can't seem to stop myself from drifting away to my own world. Some people have told me I always seem to be "not with it".

However, I do like being in my own world because I really like to think about different things. If I didn't think, I would be bored. Plus, being in my own world a lot inspires me to write and draw.

Quantum Quote topic

A world of my own. Right now I am in a world of interconnected historical events. This involves a sub interest I have had for a little over 20 years, and I go there irregularly, but I am inhabiting this world now. I do not discuss or write about it here; I just embed myself, and live in it for a while. Others here do likewise.

B9 has an interesting way of phrasing this.

I'll absolutely retreat into my own world, although I'll make myself engage with the outside world more than I did when I was a child. When I was in elementary school, my mother used to complain that it was like pulling teeth to get me ready for school in the mornings, because I was always, "in a fog."
I recall another time, also in elementary school, when I was physically sitting at the lunch table in the school cafeteria with everyone else. Mentally, I was millions of miles away. I was forced out of it when one of the teachers supervising in the cafeteria sharply called my name, saying, "C, wake up, we're moving the table."
I was pulled out of my fantasy world, and suddenly noticed that I was the only one left sitting at the table. Everyone else in the class had gotten up when this teacher had apparently told them to do so so the table could be moved. I hadn't even noticed that she was there addressing the class until she said my name. She seemed annoyed, but not particularly surprised or concerned by initial lack of responsiveness, probably because I'd been attending this school for a few years by then, and she was used to that sort of behavior from me at that point. I was in many similar such situations over the course of these years in my life.
By the time I reached late adolescence and then adulthood, I still often retreated into my own world, though I'd make myself "come out" for things like school, work and social situations when I was prepared for them. Even so, when I'm just out walking, and/ or running errands, I don't see much reason to tune into the outside world when my inner world is right there waiting for me.
Several years ago, an ex of mine, J, commented on this, saying that I didn't seem to notice what was going on around me a lot of the time, and it's a problem. He commented that his friends told me that when I saw them out and about I never seemed to notice them until they greeted me first, and sometimes not even then. Of course, if I'd only met the person once or twice, it was also possible that I didn't recognize them. You've got to love prospagnosia.
J also commented that even when he first met me, he noticed this. We had first met in Barnes and Noble of all places, which is ironic, as I later learned that J was one of the most nonintellectual, semi-literate idiots around. I'm still not sure what he was doing in a bookstore. I suspect he was lost. He commented that before he struck up a conversation with me right outside the store, he was watching me read, and I kept my eyes on the book the entire time, never looking up once to take stock of my surroundings. He told me that this was unusual, and it was a problem. I'm not sure what I was supposed to be looking at, aside from my book when I'd come to Barnes and Noble for the sole purpose of looking at books, but that's beside the point. J was a criticizing son of a b****, and thankfully ancient history for me at this stage, so I don't care about his opinion. My own world is a lot more interesting than he could ever have hoped to be. It's very different with S, who understands that my own world is an interesting place worth visiting, and has enough to offer that I'm happy to come out to be with him.
Anyway, my point is, yes, I'm quite accustomed to spending time in my own world, which makes a lot more sense to me than the outside world.
If I said too much, feel free to ignore, and continue the discussion. There's still constructive discussion happening on this thread, and I'd hate to kill it.

i don't know, but i'm accused of doing it a lot, so maybe it's true. i do try to keep track of what's going on, but i get tangled up in it very often and just shut down and drift.

i don't mind the sense of drifting though. it's pleasant to sit in the background and just sort of be in my own thoughts. i also love solitude. there's a certain freedom in it; my time and interests are my own.

Heck, yeah. I'm really good at zoning out, especially at social events where people might spot me and try and do smalltalk with me...that's if I'm not actually in a situation where I can get a book out and read (and I almost always have a book on me somewhere).

I had a terrible reputation for this at school. One of my primary school teachers read the Mr Men book 'Mr Dreamy' one day in class, and said to the whole class before starting that it was really about me... some teachers should be tarred and feathered. Thing was, somehow I could spend a whole lesson looking out of the window and still absorb what the lesson was about by some kind of osmosis. It annoyed the heck out of everyone that I could be so 'out of it' so much of the time without it actually affecting my schoolwork. I think they'd have been OK if I'd ended up with low marks, then they could have made a bad example of me.

Also, hubby will quite often have to get my attention two or three times before I'll respond to whatever he's saying. I usually did hear what he said and can (and I think he finds this annoying!) repeat it back to him...I just take a while to come out of dormant mode, if you know what I mean.

When I was younger I was in my own world a lot, I loved it. This world we're in is utter crap, and is full of horrible people and idiots. My own world (I had an imaginary planet in my head) was perfect, where everything worked the way it needed to.

Today... Little has changed. The real world is still utter crap and the world in my head is still perfect. I spend hours flapping my hands while imagining all sorts of things I want to do, mostly driving supercars, making loaaaadddssss of money, flying in private jets, sitting in chauffeur driven Maybachs, etc. The only difference is that I'm now doing something to make my world a reality.

Iam like this too I stay in my own little world most of the time

I read it Interesting point about the difference between feeling you *have* to leave your world becuase you're required to pay attention to someone and *wanting* to leave your world becuase they provide stimulus that you seek or will enjoy also, thus giving them what they seek from you.

I guess reality will always mean the best we can hope for is a bit of both.

I do, to varying degrees. I have to try and force myself to focus elsewhere if I'm supposed to be engaged in conversation. I also get stuck inside my own head when I'm overstimulated. It becomes my safe place. There's only 1 person who can draw me out, when it's bad. Everyone else I just shut out.

I dont get accused of this now nearly as much as I did as a kid. The funny thing is back then I had no idea what they were talking about. I was oblivious to anyone elses perceptions of anything. I always thought that everyone else was doing exactly what I was. Now that I know better, I have not really changed I am just better at faking. In the real world I guess it doesnt matter if you genuinely care about anyone as long as you smile and nod and pretend to give a s*** about what they are saying. It still confuses me. I will stick to my own little world things are much more real for me here and make much more sense.

always have been, always will be.