242. The psychology of maladaptive daydreaming

Daydreaming can be a perfectly normal part of life - zoning out in the shower, before we fall asleep, on the train to work. But some of us cross over into dangerous territory or what we call maladaptive daydreaming where we can't pull ourselves away from the fantasy. We feel disconnected and it makes our real life feel so much less bright and enjoyable. It can cause us a lot of distress and distraction. Why is that? And why can't we stop ourselves? In today's episode, we break down:  What makes daydreaming 'maladaptive' or 'excessive'  What are the signs + the 16 item scale for maladaptive daydreaming The impact on our emotional health  Maladaptive daydreaming and creativity  Maladaptive daydreaming, trauma, anxiety and OCD  Is daydreaming a form of escapism? How to turn daydreaming into intentional visualisation  Thank you to our listeners who contributed their perspective. Happy listening!  The 16 item scale here: https://traumadissociation.com/mds  The Reddit help group: https://www.reddit.com/r/MaladaptiveDreaming/  Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast For business: [email protected]       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.