What It Means When Your Daydreaming Goes Astray

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Most people engage, especially when they are idle, in the seemingly harmless reverie of daydreaming. Letting your mind escape from the humdrum of your daily existence to a more pleasant set of circumstances seems not only harmless but, at times, necessary. Perhaps you’re stuck in a long checkout line after stocking up at your favorite big-box store. You’ve checked all your texts; your phone provides no relief. Why not wander mentally to the last place you went on vacation? Remember how great it felt to dip your toes in the refreshing waters of the pool?

Maladaptive Daydreaming as a Psychological Disorder

As innocuous and beneficial as it may seem, there can be a point when daydreaming takes on more ominous proportions. In the field of clinical psychology, the term maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is actually being proposed as a potential diagnostic category, which may share some features with obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and anxiety. Similar to the "fantasy-prone personality" (Wilson and Barber, 1982), people who engage in MD live in their own inner worlds much of the time.

In a new study, Middlesex University’s Amy Lucas and Alexandra Bone (2025) build on this idea, defining MD as “a compulsive cycle of dissociative absorption in mental fantasy that results in distress and impaired functioning” (p. 1). Rather than just daydream when people are bored, those who engage in MD may spend as much as 57 percent of their waking hours engaged in daydreams compared with most people, who daydream an average of perhaps 16 percent, according to previous studies cited by the authors.

Apart from the lost time spent wandering through other times and places, people who engage in MD experience shame, guilt, and distress. They become immersed in thoughts and visions that form around a variety of idealized themes. The problem is not what they daydream about, but how much they daydream—and they can’t stop even when they try. They are unable to do almost anything else; guilt and shame follow because they feel they’re wasting time, or they may actually fall behind compared with others. What’s more, “over time, the gap between idealised daydream worlds and real life and sense of self can grow wider, deepening feelings of dissatisfaction and frustration” (p. 8).

A Model of Maladaptive Daydreaming

The purpose of the Middlesex study was to develop a theoretical model that would aid mental health professionals in the assessment, clinical formulation, and intervention of MD. Toward that end, they first enlisted professional colleagues to review the model. Then they asked three individuals whose scores on an MD scale qualified them as well above average to populate the details of the model from their own “lived experiences.” These are the basic elements of that model as exemplified by one of the participants, Sarah, a 22-year-old Canadian:

Early life experiences

Sarah had good family support, but she constantly compared herself with others, who were competitive swimmers she believed to be better than she was. She discovered at a young age that she could engage in vivid fantasy.

Core beliefs and assumptions

Sarah’s endorsed such beliefs as “I am an awkward person.” And, “The world is disappointing."

Precipitating factors

Procrastination from studying, seeing other people thrive, and feeling socially awkward.

Functional impact

Sarah missed out on academic opportunities but also constantly compared herself with the “idealized daydream version of myself.”

Internal states and appraisals

Inwardly, Sarah worries about her future, the disappointment that her fantasy life will never happen, and her low self-esteem.

Emotions experienced while daydreaming

As Sarah found herself absorbed in mental fantasy, she felt the emotional experiences of connection, acceptance, self-assurance, pride, and motivation.

Daydream themes and details

The daydreams themselves involved simple everyday situations in which “life was the way I wish it were.” She also imagined herself having the “perfect body" when she could feel confident, sure of herself, and impervious to the way others viewed her.

Using Daydreaming to Your Benefit

This analysis of maladaptive daydreaming clarifies the idea that it’s possible for what should be a beneficial mental break to become a major preoccupation. If you're worried about yourself, answer questions such as: “To what extent would you rather daydream than engage with other people or participate in social activities or hobbies?” And, “Some people feel annoyed when a real-world event interrupts one of their daydreams. When the real world interrupts one of your daydreams, on average, how annoyed do you feel?”

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To sum up, daydreams have creative value as long as they don't crowd everything else out of your life. Finding fulfillment means using all your mind's resources to their best advantage, whether in fantasy or reality.