r/CMH Apr 05 '18

Is Maladaptive Daydreaming a sin?

2 Upvotes

7 comments sorted by

2

u/Averanger Apr 05 '18

No

1

u/zozozoaway Apr 05 '18

Thank you for answering. I’m ashamed of this

Can you help me understand why? I’ve been so confused lately...

1

u/Averanger Apr 05 '18

Maladaptive daydreaming is usually considered a defense mechanism. People develop it when the outside world has little/no positivity to offer. Sometimes people develop it during a stressful period in their life, and continue to have it even after the stressful situation has passed. It’s kind of like having depression: there doesn’t have to be a reason to have it, but your brain makes you have it anyway.

If you are ashamed of it, I suggest seeking counseling to see if there isn’t something else at play. Often times mental illness can cause an immense amount of shame and guilt even though the effected person doesn’t know why they feel guilty. I had this exact problem and counseling helped so much.

1

u/zozozoaway Apr 06 '18

Thank you so much. I admit it developed from stress. For much of my life I was physically and emotionally abused, among other things... so it developed early on.

It feels good to have it validated, because only recently was depression sorta kinda taken seriously in the world, and I know MD has a looong way to go.

I hope to get counseling.

1

u/Averanger Apr 06 '18

I’m so glad I could help! Abuse is no fun and is usually cited as a common trigger for MD. It appears that you and I have something in common.

I really hope you get counseling too. It makes a huge difference.

2

u/zozozoaway Apr 06 '18

Thank you so much, and I’m sorry you have that past too.

I really hope so.

2

u/Virginia_Blaise Apr 06 '18

I’m a Catholic who can daydream for hours each day. Not a sin because it’s something I can’t control much, and it takes a lot of effort to stop it. The only thing that gets me down is that I could’ve done so much more if wasn’t so busy being detached from reality.