Despite desperate attempts from our tech overlords, no app or algorithm has yet procured the ability to eclipse the boundless creativity of daydreams. A universal coping mechanism that pulls us through life’s bleakest or most mundane periods; daydreaming punctuates even the dampest train journeys with moments of peace and serenity, allowing us to conjure images more fantastical than condensation-soaked windows and crumb-laden seats of public transport. We all daydream. But it turns out some of us are experiencing significantly more intense and intrusive fantasies than others, entering imaginary universes so frequently and for such long periods, some psychologists are comparing it to addiction.
‘Maladaptive daydreaming’, coined in 2002 by clinical psychologist Professor Eli Somer, is the latest in a string of mental health conditions subject to mass TikTok self-diagnosis. Going beyond a penchant for visualising a beach holiday, maladaptive daydreaming sees individuals regularly detach from reality to engage in intricately-constructed daydream universes — often choosing to create idealised, imaginary versions of themselves and their lives in favour of the real world.
But what’s actually the difference? According to Eli, daydreaming exists on multiple levels. There’s “mind wandering”, where the mind jumps between mundane topics, like recent conversations or dinner plans. Then there’s “regular daydreaming”, where the brain is more focused on the specific task of creating an internal narrative or storyline. “Immersive daydreaming” sees the mind venturing deeper into imaginary fantasy lands, free to experience desired feelings or desired perceptions of oneself.
“Immersive daydreaming runs the risk of creating an addiction because it’ is so rewarding, highly accessible, and legal,” Eli elaborates. “It’s a virtual reality machine that is situated between one’s ears, so it can be easily activated, and because it’s immensely gratifying, people tend to repeat it or engage in it for extended amounts of time.”
Maladaptive daydreaming, then, occurs when this fantasy overtakes the individual’s desire to face reality, something Eli worries can cause problems in daydreamers’ lives. “If fantasising is at the expense of socialising with peers or family, forming a meaningful relationship, forming a support system, meeting academic goals, and advancing a career, then we have a problem,” he says. “If people prefer the shortcuts of imagining that they’ve already reached their goals, then serious issues have been created.”
23-year-old Chiara Gala discovered the concept on TikTok after years of seeking a definition from mental health professionals. She describes 10-hour daydreaming sessions, during which she would construct up to six autonomous worlds at a time, each with an idealised version of herself at the centre. There, she says, she excelled at all her responsibilities — an impossible feat in reality. “It was actively preventing me from achieving anything because I would just dream of scenarios and think ‘even if it doesn’t happen I can still daydream’,” she explains. “I realised the more I thought about it, the less I would do to try and achieve it. But I also didn’t want to stop.”
Similarly, 17-year-old Tom* first encountered maladaptive daydreaming on TikTok, immediately resonating with it having spent chunks of his life avoiding reality through his daydreams. “They go from me playing in a band with a huge audience applauding me, to reliving past experiences, such as breakups, depression or anxiety attacks, except I’ll alter them in a way,” he says. “It becomes a never-ending cycle of me losing myself deeper in thought.”
Given that maladaptive daydreaming often replaces in-person interaction, it’s unsurprising that TikTok’s primary demographic, Gen-Z, is resonating en masse with the condition, given that significant periods of their adolescence have been mired in restriction. A study from the University of Haifa found maladaptive daydreamers engaged more frequently in daydreams during periods of pandemic-related quarantine — something that aligns with Tom’s experience, who admits to turning to his daydreams to “escape the repetitive life cycle of lockdown”.
20-year-old Johanna Engvall, whose daydreams are constructed from fantasy worlds of movies and books, concurs having spent her penultimate teenage years in virtual schooling. “I was isolated, which meant I daydreamed more than when I was physically in school,” she says. Post-lockdown, she’s struggled to control her daydreaming, admitting to regularly leaving social situations to engage in her fantasies. This exacerbates her existing social anxiety. “I want to isolate myself so I can daydream more and more,” she says. “But I can’t live a normal life if I keep relying on my daydreams to not feel anxious.”
Though the virality of maladaptive daydreaming has given many the means to label their experiences, the behaviour has also been subject to the TikTokification of mental health. The past two years have welcomed a slew of content that sees users self-diagnose through videos that relay a series of generic symptoms. Eli argues that this poses a risk to those seeking treatment for any mental health concern, especially maladaptive daydreaming which is still in the early stages of research. “These trends are fodder for the sceptics to say that this is just a mass hysteria and it’s a passing trend [that] shouldn’t be given serious clinical consideration,” he says.
However, there’s also a significant benefit in the online communities that have bloomed as a result, especially given that their ability to offer peer support while access to treatment remains limited. For Johanna, seeing those with similar experiences provides invaluable insight into how to return to “the real world”, while Chiara finally feels comfortable discussing her daydreams openly.
And it’s needed — scroll through these viral videos and you’re met with comment sections lamenting dread from individuals fearing that relating to the characteristics of maladaptive daydreaming means they’re mentally unwell. But, as maladaptive daydreaming isn’t inherently harmful and can be corrected, Eli affirms that people shouldn’t submit to fearmongering. And, considering the creativity it takes to construct these dream realities, the practice may be somewhat beneficial when exercised with caution.
“This is the good news that comes out of our recent research,” he says. “You could harness your daydreaming and rein it in, so you could control and learn to enjoy it rather than feeling trapped by it.”