Dear Javairia:

Wikipedia on maladaptive daydreaming reads that the term is not a recognized psychiatric or medical diagnosis. The term was coined in 2002 by Professor Eli Somer of University of Haifa who defined the term as an: “extensive fantasy activity that replaces human interaction and/ or interferes with academic, interpersonal, or vocational functioning”.

Everyone daydreams sometimes, but some individuals daydream so vividly of stories with characters, plots and settings, that they feel that they are actually there, in the imagined setting, in the story, being one of the characters, feeling so good being there in the story,  that they feel compelled to daydream more and more, and so, it becomes addictive.

* Before the term was coined, I daydreamed that way, every day it seems, while I was in high school, if not earlier. I enjoyed it very much, starting a story in the morning and having it continue into the evening. It was my way to feel good (and it did!) while real-life felt badly, lonely and boring.

There are online forums for maladaptive daydreamers. One is Daydream in blue free forums. net, and another is wild minds ning. com. The latter has this on the Home Page:

“Daydreamers welcome: Maladaptive daydreaming is an extensive fantasy activity that interferes with an individual’s life. Maladaptive daydreamers feel an urgency to daydream, which is similar to an addiction. Their fantasies are complex stories, with characters and plots, and they are very emotionally intense. On this website, maladaptive daydreamers can speak openly about this problem, sharing stories, resources, solutions, ideas, or just feel part of a community”.

I hope one or both of these online websites can be of help to you.

anita