Is Maladaptive Daydreaming a Mental Illness?

Maladaptive daydreaming is a psychiatric condition. It was identified by Professor Eliezer Somer of the University of Haifa in Israel. This condition causes intense daydreaming that distracts a person from their real life. Many times, real-life events trigger day dreams.

What is maladaptive daydreaming linked to?

Maladaptive Daydreaming Diagnosis

While it has been linked to social anxiety or previous trauma, people may develop maladaptive daydreaming without any prior trauma. There is also some evidence that maladaptive daydreamers tended to have active imaginations as children.

What kind of trauma causes maladaptive daydreaming?

Maladaptive daydreaming usually occurs as a coping mechanism in response to trauma, abuse or loneliness. Sufferers create a complex inner world which they escape to in times of distress by daydreaming for hours.