Maladaptive Daydreaming??

[coral ember]

So for a very long time and even now, I used to make up these scenarios in my head, like many different worlds, some reflecting real life and some just fantasy(mostly fantasy). And for the longest time this was my way of coping, my way of staying anchored and not going crazy, it was my happy space. Then I read an article about maladaptive daydreaming and I was shocked and confused simply because I displayed most of the symptoms, making weird gestures and listening to music to make the worlds seem more immersive ( in private, although there are times when I accidently smiled and talked to myself but that rarely happens ). It never really bothered my studies, in fact it helped me study well sometimes, even though I'm in that fantasy world when lectures are going on ( only for the sleepy classes to make myself stay awake ). Idk if this is an actual problem or not just wanted an opinion on it.

Idk if it can really be called maladaptive daydreaming since I do academically well and while im not the most social person out there, I have given presentations and stuff and have a good reputation in class( as a guy who studies hard). I try my best to take leadership roles and (involuntarily) become the leader whenever group projects are assigned

Maybe its cuz I've learnt to make use of it for my advantage since I've had it for as long as I can remember but idk

[subtle saddle]

So idk if what I have to say will help you, but since I myself maybe has MD ( vivid ass daydreaming, like 6+ a day, disrupting my life etc. ) i feel like i should say something, So I don't really know If u have MD, as far as I know it's a coping mechanism that is mainly vivid daydreams that last a long time and usually happens so often it prevents someone from living their daily lives, So you said that it's like scenarios in your head, and a way of coping and also has the weird gestures and music helps make it more immersive, which to me sounds like MD but you also said that It doesn't really affect your life, im not really sure where the line is from normal daydreaming to MD ( from what I've seen it's some combination of how vivid it is and the time spent, how much it affects your life, whether or not you are addicted to doing it/ accidently slipping into it ) , but since you asked this here I'm assuming you find this concerning in some sense, so I just wanna say that if you think this is affecting you in anyway maybe unhealthy coping or whatever you should probably seek help, or if you don't mind it you could continue to do it If it doesn't negatively affect your life, but in any case if you can I recommend trying to talk to a mental health professional if you have any concerns since MD is quite hard to break out of, hope this helps 😅 ( it's my first time giving advice, sorry if it looks funny )

• also sidenote here --> doing accedemicly well doesn't necessarily mean you don't have MD, it think it really depends on the person tho and how bad their MD is, like for example back then I started having it in middle school and I was mostly doing fine ( u know until highschool and chemistry beat the shit out of me, but I also don't read even before MD so that's prob something to do with it 🤣 )

[spiral trail]

I would say it’s a life hack . Because imagine you’re on a train for 3 hours and you have nothing to do . Just use it to your advantage

[coral ember]

And just to be certain, internal monologuing is normal rt?

[subtle saddle]

Yes👍