Maladaptive daydreaming is the title proposed by Eli Sómer, Ph.D., for an alleged condition in which an individual daydream

Daydream

A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists. The general public also uses the term for a...

s or fantasize

Fantasy (psychology)

Fantasy in a psychological sense is broadly used to cover two different senses, conscious and unconscious. In the unconscious sense, it is sometimes spelled "phantasy".-Conscious fantasy:...

s, sometimes as a psychological response to prior trauma

Psychological trauma

Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...

 or abuse

Abuse

Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...

. This title has become popularly generalized to incorporate a recently-described syndrome of immersive or excessive daydreaming which is specifically characterized by attendant distress or functional impairment, whether or not it is contingent upon a history of trauma or abuse, as introduced in 2009 by Cynthia Schupak, Ph.D. and Jesse Rosenthal, M.D. of New York City. Dr. Schupak and her colleagues are currently conducting follow-up research on excessive or "maladaptive" daydreaming in a confidential online study.

Symptoms

Some symptoms of Maladaptive Daydreaming are:

• A repetitive movement while daydreaming (pacing, shaking an object in your hands, rocking etc.) However only 89% of people with MD have a movement like this, and it is not necessary for daydreaming
• Listening to music while daydreaming is common
• Daydreaming having an impact on a person's real life
• Some people have reported dizziness, headaches and other physical symptoms after daydreaming.
• Daydreaming more than what is considered normal
• Some people who have this have symptoms similar to Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD or OCD. However, one may have one of these disorders and MD.
• Very vivid and intricate fantasies
• Many MDers are emotionally attached to the characters they create within their daydreams
• People with this disorder often express the emotions they are feeling in their daydreams, and may cry, laugh, smile or make facial expressions according to what is happening in their fantasies.

Addiction

Many people who claim to have this disorder have reported that their daydreaming feels like an addiction - once they've started, they have trouble stopping. In most cases, excessive daydreaming begins as an outlet for a person's creativity or as a method of escaping trauma or abuse; people with MD do not foresee their daydreaming becoming addictive or problematic when they first begin.

Movements

While Maladaptive Daydreamers are daydreaming, they will often perform a repetitive movement. Examples of common movements include:

• Pacing
• Rocking
• Spinning
• Shaking an object in their hands
• Swinging
• Tapping something (e.g. a pen) against something else
• Shaking/moving their feet/hands

These are just a few examples of the wide variety of movements that are often performed while daydreaming. Not with MD everyone has a special movement they perform while daydreaming, but the majority (89%) of MDers do.

Music

Lots of people that say they have MD have reported that they will daydream while listening to music. Even hearing music will send some MDers into their fantasies, depending on the severity of their MD. If a MDer has a repetitive movement, they will often combine that and music, performing their movement to music while daydreaming.