Wandering Minds.

[Agent Intellect]

I've recently read an article in Scientific American MIND about daydreaming. I won't go into the neurological details, since that seems to turn people off from reading my posts, but it mentioned a "condition" that doesn't have an actual name called Maladaptive Daydreaming. I know I can be a bit of a hypochondriac at times (like a lot of the newbies here, I used to wonder if I had schizotypal personality disorder, aspergers, schizoid personality disorder etc) but the description fit me quite nicely.

It's what I imagine having schizophrenia would be like if you knew that you were the proprietor of your own thoughts.

Anyway, just like with INTP forum, MD has a forum that has people that I can relate to: Wild Minds Network. Just thought I'd share.

Anyone else have this "condition" (blessing/curse)?

 

[Anchorite]

Got it.
I'm in a state of daydream on an almost consistent basis. I pace around my room and house at some point everyday.
My daydreams aren't usually particularly interesting. For instance if I'm watching an interview on TV or the internet I feel a compulsive need to answer all the questions in my own (better) way, the same goes for speeches. (This may also just have to do with the fact that I'm a raging egomaniac). I'm always capable of acknowledging my surroundings, but almost never focusing on them, I'm focused on whats in my head which explains why I walk into things i should know very well are there while I'm pacing.

 

[Minuend]

^Diagnosed?

AI; If you are suffering to a lack of response to your threads, I think it's rather people being intimidated by your knowledge and intelligence.

I don't have mal. dreaming, but I do have a tendency to "space out". This happens randomly, and I kinda just disappear into this calming state of mind. I do have concentration problems when reading because I sometimes start to think about completely unrelated things. Sometimes it's difficult to even focus my thoughts to finish a sentence; Usually when I read for longer periods of time or when the material is difficult. Which is frustrating when I want to learn chemistry. I don't have much stamina.

Well, okay, that wasn't very relevant. It's just something that bothers me and it leaked out here. Oh well, I hope they invent a concentration pill someday. It's so frustrating to want something so much and being unable to do it when it's so simple.

 

[Adymus]

I'd like to see these Neurological Details.

 

[Glordag]

I suppose it's hard to say without knowing the details, yes. I do quite a bit of pacing, get extremely lost in music, tend to zone out and forget about my "tasks", constantly drum with my hands/feet/teeth/anything else almost nonstop, and am easily tuned into a dreamlike state of mind at certain triggering stimuli such as a good painting, article, movie, song, etc.

That said, I still wouldn't feel comfortable saying I have the condition without knowing more details and being evaluated by a "professional". As I understand it, many times psychological conditions aren't diagnosed unless they inhibit a person's ability to function in some fashion or another. It's hard for me to say whether my excessive "daydreaming" is really inhibiting my ability to function or not. I would lean towards yes.

 

[cheese]

I think there could be some overlap with dissociative identity disorder, although I prefer to use the term 'multiples' (I'm not sure if it's really a disorder or not). Some multiples have described their headspace in similar terms - extremely detailed inner worlds with a host of well fleshed-out 'characters' that they (the 'original'?) assume have been made up, but eventually they acknowledge them as 'real people' - in that they're real minds, as real as any other consciousness originating in that brain - and start to live more comfortably by letting the other people take over the body when necessary.

Perhaps some of these so-called fantasy people could be put to work in the host body, thereby making life a little easier and more functional for the 'original'? I don't mean this in the sense of the 'original' having control over them and using them as slaves, more that if the relationships are real, the 'fantasy' figures might want to cooperate and help out a bit if s/he's having a tough time.

Here's an interesting link: http://thosethatwalk.tripod.com detailing one multiple's inner world (called the Shire *edit I think it's Idia? and the village is the Shire...can't remember) and what it's like living with other people in your head.

 

[crippli]

I tend to think about other things then what I am doing. I like to think of it as thinking forward. The only thing I would consider fantasy with this is that it has not happened yet.

I have had people ask me what I am doing, and then I notice that I was doing what I was thinking. So premature actions, confusing the onlooker. And rather pointless, as it will be out of context in that point of time.

I don't consider any of this disordered or at the level of what is described. Just future oriented.

I am relaxed. I don't pace. So I guess no.

 

[Anchorite]

^Diagnosed?

No. Since it isn't a condition they seem to consider worth diagnosing at all, and I honestly don't see why they would. If it is just a collection of those things and they put a label on it, I suppose since I do those things the label would apply to me.

 

[Minuend]

If I understand correctly, this is a way to reduce stress in relation to former trauma. Which means that it's another method of blocking out your thoughts and feelings regarding that incident. I think that for those who think this is a good thing, they probably don't have it. I would think the reason it is called a condition is because some suffer from it.

Say you're doing something important, like driving, and suddenly you hear that certain song that triggers your memories which your brain actively block by spacing out. Not too safe.

Though, just having concentration difficulty in itself is fucking annoying.

Hmm, I hope I will get my SA MIND soon so that I can read the article too.

 

[Da Blob]

It has been said that we each are our own worst enemies. We often internalize external "victimization" into internal victimization - rather like the Stockholm Syndrome on a generic level.

Personally, I see the use of the word, Maladaptive, as a keyword indicating an orientation of an obsolete school of psychology, Behaviorism. Behaviorism has recycled itself and become very popular - simply by placing the word, Cognitive in front of the word, Behavior, in the titles of its old theories... About the only concept of value contained in current CEBT programs is the century-old idea of bad habits ( re: maladaptive).

Again, defining the human imagination as a 5th dimension of human reality is a more more productive POV, IMO. The pattern is for INTPians and others, perhaps, is that, because of being placed in very boring environments (re school for 12 years or more) we spend a great deal of time amusing our selves in the 5th dimension of imagination. We become true adepts at manipulating the Intuitive structures available for "day dreaming".

However, since imagination is a facet of reality and reality can be cruel, one can become the victim of one's own imagination or even dominated by one's imagination as a status quo. In fact, I could make the case for any number of mental disorders being the Effect caused by Imagination...

It is a deep and complicated structure the human imagination. Of interest, is the fact that the pleasure/pain centers of the reptilian brain can be triggered by 'imagined' stimuli, as readily as real stimuli. That is of course, reason to call into question the nature of 'reality"

Again for those who have become victims of their own imaginations/memories/dreams might I suggest that there is a solution? Just as the idea that there are bad habits is a centuries old concept, might I suggest that the even older concept of forgiveness has great utility in combating the products of one's own imagination?

Of course, in order to make this concept, politically correct, one has to disguise it as something new and hide its true source....

 

[Da Blob]

It has been said that we each are our own worst enemies. We often internalize external "victimization" into internal victimization - rather like the Stockholm Syndrome on a generic level.

Personally, I see the use of the word, Maladaptive, as a keyword indicating an orientation of an obsolete school of psychology, Behaviorism. Behaviorism has recycled itself and become very popular - simply by placing the word, Cognitive in front of the word, Behavior, in the titles of its old theories... About the only concept of value contained in current CEBT programs is the century-old idea of bad habits ( re: maladaptive).

Again, defining the human imagination as a 5th dimension of human reality is a more more productive POV, IMO. The pattern is for INTPians and others, perhaps, is that, because of being placed in very boring environments (re school for 12 years or more) we spend a great deal of time amusing our selves in the 5th dimension of imagination. We become true adepts at manipulating the Intuitive structures available for "day dreaming".

However, since imagination is a facet of reality and reality can be cruel, one can become the victim of one's own imagination or even dominated by one's imagination as a status quo. In fact, I could make the case for any number of mental disorders being the Effect caused by Imagination...

It is a deep and complicated structure the human imagination. Of interest, is the fact that the pleasure/pain centers of the reptilian brain can be triggered by 'imagined' stimuli, as readily as real stimuli. That is of course, reason to call into question the nature of 'reality"

Again for those who have become victims of their own imaginations/memories/dreams might I suggest that there is a solution? Just as the idea that there are bad habits is a centuries old concept, might I suggest that the even older concept of forgiveness has great utility in combating the products of one's own imagination?

Of course, in order to make this concept, politically correct, one has to disguise it as something new and hide its true source....

 

[Agent Intellect]

I'd like to see these Neurological Details.

Healthy individuals have parts of the brain known as the default network. This consists of the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, and the parietal cortex. What's meant by default is that these are areas of the brain that are active when our minds aren't doing anything in particular.

The medial prefrontal cortex helps us imagine ourselves and the thoughts and feelings of others. It has a high baseline metabolic activity reading, meaning that it's active when we're doing nothing. The posterior cingulate cortex draws personal memories from the brain and is involved in our understanding of what other people are thinking (theory of mind). And the parietal cortex has major connections with the hippocampus, which stores episodic memories and is associated with bodily awareness.

This 3-part default network is important in our sense of self. It's also associated with daydreaming, because this network allows for the projection of self - using our baseline sense of self and projecting it into mentally constructed realities we aren't physically inhabiting at the time.

In people with schizophrenia, the medial prefrontal cortex is deficient, affecting their sense of self - they aren't aware that the baseline thoughts (daydreams) they are having are their own, hence their daydreams manifest like thoughts being inserted into their mind. People with maladaptive daydreaming, on the other hand, have an overactive default network - they can't turn off the daydreaming even when other mentally stimulating things are happening around them. Someone with MD may project themselves into fantasy worlds of their own construction at any time, as opposed to normal people who only revert to the baseline neural activity of the default network when external stimuli is low.

 

[Dimensional Transition]

So... Does that mean I have maladaptive daydreaming when I'm not paying attention in my class or in family gatherings? Or not really feeling 'there' when talking to someone? Or is this just being very introverted?