Complex Numbers

Daydream Believer

Like to daydream? Well, consider this article from The Conversation. Author is British, so there are some weird-to-Americans spellings:

    Daydreaming’s dark side: the compulsive, complex fantasy disorder that dominates some people’s daily lives  

If daydreaming has a dark side, wouldn't that be a daymare?

Despite what we’re often taught to believe, daydreaming can be immensely useful.

Especially when you're approaching a deadline.

Daydreaming, when defined as thoughts that aren’t tied to what you’re currently doing, occupies a good chunk of our waking lives – an average of around 30% of the time if you randomly probe people.

Hopefully not while you're at work. Because that would be time theft. You'd be stealing from the Company. You're not stealing from the Company, are you, Janice?

But it’s estimated 2.5% of adults experience a type of excessive daydreaming which is defined as the disorder “maladaptive daydreaming”. So-called maladaptive daydreamers compulsively engage in vivid fantasies and daydreaming plots so excessively that it interferes with their ability to function in daily life.

I suppose there is no activity (or, in this case, usually inactivity) that someone, somewhere, can't find a downside to.

Unlike typical daydreams which can be fleeting (lasting seconds), maladaptive daydreamers can spend several hours at a time in a single daydream.

Okay, fine. That does seem a bit excessive.

These invented worlds are often rich and fantastical, with complex plots and intricate storylines that evolve over many years.

You've just defined fiction writers. Except for the, you know... writing it all down part.

With maladaptive daydreaming, there’s a strong urge to daydream and annoyance when this is not possible or interrupted. Most also find it difficult to stop or even reduce the amount of time they spend daydreaming.

I'm no expert, but isn't that pretty much the classic definition of addiction?

It’s important to note that immersive daydreaming and vivid fantasy activity isn’t by default maladaptive.

I'm just leaving that quote here in case you can't be arsed to read the article (perhaps because you're too busy daydreaming), and are wondering if you should be concerned about yourself. Chances are, no. I think the article is about making the rest of us aware that people like this exist, not, for once, trying to tell us that we're doing something wrong.

There seems to be a strong relationship between OCD and maladaptive daydreaming. One study found that over half of participants with maladaptive daydreaming also exhibited signs of OCD. This may suggest possible shared mechanisms between the two disorders, including intrusive thoughts, dissociation and a lack of cognitive control.

Again, far from expert here, but I'm pretty sure that by OCD, they mean diagnosed by a professional, not just someone being coy about their cleaning and/or organizational habits.

The fact that maladaptive daydreaming is not recognised as a psychiatric condition also means we know little about treatment options. There is one documented case study published in a peer-reviewed journal showing a 25-year-old man was able to cut the time he spent daydreaming in half – from nearly three hours daily to under an hour and a half. This was done over the course of six months using a combination of psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness.

At last, a practical use for cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. Maybe. As always, one data point does not a scientific study make. Somehow, "directing the patient to become a writer" doesn't seem to appear in the list of treatments.

Finally, I can't do a title like that without posting the song I cribbed it from, which was written by John Stewart, but not that John Stewart: