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Fact #40

There is a very little known psychological disorder called maladaptive daydreaming. It is when a person daydreams excessively, to the point where it affects their day-to-day life, and often causes them to have difficulty completing tasks, and could be harmful. They will often pace around, sometimes mumble words, and make facial expressions while doing it. They also often have difficulty sleeping, and will be genuinely happy, sad, or angry about the things going on in the daydreams. The daydreams could also genuinely terrify them. It is believed to most likely be caused by some type of trauma, most commonly being abuse, but experts still aren't completely sure what causes it. It is curable, although there is no official treatment for it, but in one study, researchers found fluvoxamine (Luvox) [also used to treat OCD] was effective in helping a maladaptive daydreamer control her daydreams. However, few doctors know about the disorder.

There is no universal method used to diagnose maladaptive daydreaming. Professor Eliezer Somer of the University of Haifa in Israel, who identified the disorder, developed the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS). This scale can help determine if a person is experiencing maladaptive daydreaming.

The MDS is a 14-part scale. It rates the five key characteristics of maladaptive daydreaming:

•the content and quality (detail) of dreams
•a person’s ability to control their dreams and compulsion to dream
•the amount of distress caused by daydreaming
•a person’s perceived benefits of daydreaming
•how much daydreaming interferes with a person’s ability to carry out their daily activities

People also rate how often they experience maladaptive daydreaming symptoms.

Maladaptive daydreaming is often diagnosed as schizophrenia, which is a type of psychosis. This is because people with schizophrenia cannot differentiate reality from fantasy. But Somer says maladaptive daydreaming is not a psychosis, because people with maladaptive daydreaming recognize that their daydreams aren’t real.

Some people who experience maladaptive daydreaming also experience:

•ADHD
•Depression
•OCD
•Anxiety

It’s not yet understood how these disorders are related to maladaptive daydreaming.

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