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AprilR
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08 Oct 2018, 11:47 am

So i kind of noticed that i live in my own head mostly. I'm constantly listening to music and imagining showing some people my blog (for example) It's funny when i say it like this but it takes hours. I also sometimes do certain actions that help me imagine the scenarios better, like walking up and down? I also watch the same videos over and over while imagining showing it to some people. Can anyone relate to this? Is this what maladaptive daydreaming is? Do you think it is harmful to do this in any way? I'm scared that what i'm doing is some how wrong.



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10 Oct 2018, 4:30 am

Same for me, live in my head. Nothing interest me anymore outside working, so I sit all day and imagine bad things that could happen (paranoid). It's bad for sure.



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10 Oct 2018, 7:56 am

Yes, I know it well. The way you describe daydreaming that you're showing people the things that you do, or explaining to someone why something means so much to you, particularly. Sometimes it's a particular person that I'm imagining describing things to, other times just an anonymous person or people. It's not "scripting" for a certain situation that I think I'll find myself in (though I do that too), and not the same as giving myself a pep-talk (which I also do a lot.) I can spend hours doing this, and it's mostly what my mind does when I'm lying awake unable to sleep, too.

I don't think it's "wrong" in any moral sense, especially as I find it very hard to stop once I've started, and can slip into it without realising that it's starting. But it is "maladaptive", in that it distracts me from actually getting things done, makes me zone out from conversations, etc. And it is "harmful" in that there are sometimes bad consequences for not getting things done, for not paying being able to pay attention to what other people are saying and doing, or for being forgetful when I'm trying to do a task (e.g. daydreaming while shopping, and forgetting to buy something that I really needed.)


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10 Oct 2018, 8:02 am

Trogluddite wrote:
Yes, I know it well. The way you describe daydreaming that you're showing people the things that you do, or explaining to someone why something means so much to you, particularly. Sometimes it's a particular person that I'm imagining describing things to, other times just an anonymous person or people. It's not "scripting" for a certain situation that I think I'll find myself in (though I do that too), and not the same as giving myself a pep-talk (which I also do a lot.) I can spend hours doing this, and it's mostly what my mind does when I'm lying awake unable to sleep, too.

I don't think it's "wrong" in any moral sense, especially as I find it very hard to stop once I've started, and can slip into it without realising that it's starting. But it is "maladaptive", in that it distracts me from actually getting things done, makes me zone out from conversations, etc. And it is "harmful" in that there are sometimes bad consequences for not getting things done, for not paying being able to pay attention to what other people are saying and doing, or for being forgetful when I'm trying to do a task (e.g. daydreaming while shopping, and forgetting to buy something that I really needed.)


Wow I could have written this!



AprilR
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10 Oct 2018, 10:15 am

Yes, Exactly like that! It can take hours for me to go over some songs or videos i want to show people because sometimes the feeling isn't right or i can't imagine it perfectly. It also hinders me from doing things that i should do!



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22 Oct 2018, 12:34 pm

Constantly, it's how I escape from the world when it's too overwhelming or too underwhelming. Most of the time I can't control it though, which is scary and makes it feel like a bad thing, especially because it inhibits conversation and getting tasks completed in a timely manner. It's like the volume of my senses are on mute, I'm completely immersed in the daydream visually and aurally. It can be replaying the past, altering the present, or predicting future actions, and it can be in the realm of possible or completely fictional.



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23 Oct 2018, 6:26 am

I think I might have this same problem because my mind is like a TV or radio constantly playing something without the ability to switch it off.

I'm always repeating scenes from TV shows or movies in my head over and over, I'm always listening to songs in my head, and often times I fantasize about what I would like to really do in situations of the past or in the future. I can't force myself to stop visualizing things in my head 24/7 I don't understand how other people can do it.



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24 Dec 2018, 8:28 pm

Almost 60 now. As far back as I can remember I've had day dream universes that I spend a lot of time in. Some of these universes have been forgotten and have fallen by the wayside, others are still going on. They are the only safe place I knew for most of my life, as I was constantly bullied at home and at school. for most of my life I had to live with relatives, so the bullying at home continued till I was finally able to live alone almost a decade and a half ago. I never want to live with others again! Anyway, by the time I was able to live alone, I was too habituated to daydreaming. Some of the daydreams are pure fantasy, and some are attempts to work thru issues in my life. Since it doesn't hurt anyone, I see no need to try to stop it. I don't do it all the time, mostly when I am idle.


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24 Dec 2018, 8:41 pm

I have this and it isn't maladaptive for me.
It's quite common in female aspies. Some male aspies have it too.
I have an imaginary ongoing world and what I like about it is it allows for me to do things I either wouldn't be able to do irl or shouldn't do irl, both moral and because I'm not ready for a relationship or kids.
Channelling it into art helps.

If it's maladaptive, it's called MDD and if it isn't it's called a Paracosm or Immersive Daydreaming World.

https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/02/1 ... es-trehin/

He has it except that his seems to be far more birds' eye view than mine. Mine is just a realistic story about a woman and her life. She's nothing like me, not even her ethics and spiritual beliefs are the same. We do share things like a birthday though. I put on her the other things I'd like from life, the sorts of things which would be interesting but which I wouldn't do. She saved me from getting into a bad relationship with a sexy bad boy, she married a guy inspired by him instead of me marrying him.

My character would say it's because me and her are Gemini. In real life I'm not superstitious like that.

If you're stressed by it, seek help but if you just want to know if you're mad, you're not, you're aspie and female and this is how female autism often looks. A bit like if you're plagued with nightmares versus if you happen to dream every night.



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25 Dec 2018, 4:34 pm

TUF wrote:
I have this and it isn't maladaptive for me.
It's quite common in female aspies. Some male aspies have it too.
I have an imaginary ongoing world and what I like about it is it allows for me to do things I either wouldn't be able to do irl or shouldn't do irl, both moral and because I'm not ready for a relationship or kids.
Channelling it into art helps.


I think this is basically right. I used to worry it was the sign of a problem, but like you say, I think it's to do things you couldn't otherwise. For example, if I don't meet people I can speak in depth with about my passions ("special interests"), I imagine it to fulfill that need. I can also imagine social scenarios without the sensory difficulties of many real social situations, just as TV and film let me observe versions of social scenarios from a safe distance.



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25 Dec 2018, 5:35 pm

I mostly did this in school I spend maybe 10 hours ago doing it now. Mine tend to be Dystopian too.



AprilR
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06 Jan 2019, 1:12 pm

I just chrcked this topic for New responses. I never imagined this is what female autism was like. It makes me happy and functional at least.