Dear Readers,
We are thrilled to bring you this new issue of the International Consortium for Maladaptive Daydreaming Research newsletter. In this edition, we summarise the latest peer-reviewed studies, books, workshops and student projects that shed light on the enigmatic realm of maladaptive daydreaming (MD).
Prepare to embark on a captivating journey through the intricate landscapes of the human mind as experts in the field unveil their latest findings and breakthroughs. From the relationships between trauma and MD to how vividly people with MD can see their daydream scenes, the mysteries of the daydreaming mind continue to fascinate researchers around the world.
Get ready for a thought-provoking read as we continue our collective quest to unravel the mysteries of MD...
Published research articles
In Eli Somer's latest MD study, 56% of the participants with MD reported past trauma and 51% reported frequent traumatic daydream themes. However, participants also noted their daydreams often depicted corrected, more positive versions of experienced events. Finally, most participants stated they did not confuse daydreaming with actual experiences. This study provides new data on the complex interplay between trauma, memory, and daydreaming in MD. This study does not support skeptics’ claims that childhood trauma memories of people with dissociative disorders like MD might be basing them on fantasies.
This paper has been picked up by psychologim.com, a major Israeli psychology website. They published a summary of the paper’s main findings.
Somer, E. & Otgaar, H. (2024). Exploring the Nexus between Childhood Adversities, Trauma-related Fantasy and Memory in Maladaptive Daydreaming. Acta Psychologica, 247, 104301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104301
Eli Somer has also published a case report describing a 35-year-old woman with false memories and MD. Although the vast majority of people with MD do not mistake fantasy for reality, this case report suggests that, occasionally, such confusion can occur.
Somer, E. (2024). When Imagination Feels Like Reality: A Case Study of False Memories and Maladaptive Daydreaming in Visual Impairment. Case Reports in Psychiatry, Article ID 9391645, 82024. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/9391645.
Two papers looked at the effect of childhood abuse or neglect on the development of MD.
The first investigated the effects of childhood emotional maltreatment (both childhood emotional abuse and childhood emotional neglect) on teenagers in Pakistan. The authors collected data from 200 adolescents using questionnaires designed to measure childhood emotional maltreatment, MD and emotional processing styles. They found that adolescents who had experienced more emotional maltreatment as children had less healthy styles of emotional processing and were more likely to be suffering from MD. The authors conclude that “emotional abuse in childhood leads to emotional impairment and maladaptive daydreaming in teens”. This study adds to the existing literature that indicates that childhood emotional abuse and/or neglect can have lasting effects into adolescence and adulthood and can be a factor in the development of MD. The article is published Open Access in the Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research.
Begum, A. & Khan, M.J. (2024). Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Maladaptive Daydreaming Among Adolescents: Mediating Role of Emotional Processing. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 39 (1) 123-137. https://doi.org/10.33824/PJPR.2024.39.1.08
The second paper hypothesizes that when abused children spend excessive amounts of time in fantasy, it can indicate insecure attachment, lead to shame, and problems with metacognition.
Shiota, S., Oura, S.I., & Matsumoto M. (2024). Maladaptive fantasy predicts negatively distorted self and other mental representation: A consideration of child abuse from psycho/neuro/biological perspectives. Environment and Social Psychology, 9(7): 2079. https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v9i7.2079
Book
For Dutch speakers, Ankie Driessen has written De complexiteit van Maladaptief Dagdromen, to help both those living with maladaptive daydreaming and their healthcare professionals to understand the condition and effectively treat it.
Conference presentation
Colin Ross presented a workshop at the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. He explored how therapists can approach the treatment of individuals with dissociative identity disorder (DID) who also have MD. He emphasised the need to distinguish between DID alter personalities and MD characters. The full abstract is below.
Ross, C.A. (March, 21, 2024) Working with Maladaptive Daydreaming. Workshop presented at the conference of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, Frisco, Texas.
Abstract: Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) has recently been described in the literature and a self-report measure for it, a structured interview and proposed diagnostic criteria have been published. This research involves a range of different statistical procedures that demonstrate the reliability, sensitivity and specificity of the measures. Maladaptive daydreaming is characterized by: spending many hours per day daydreaming; the daydreaming causes subjective distress and/or interferes with function; the person realizes that the daydream is a fantasy and that it is under conscious control; nevertheless, the daydreaming often has a compulsive or addictive quality; the daydream involves a complex inner world with characters and plots; the person is often important, successful or glamorous in the inside world; the daydream may be accompanied by stereotyped movements; and there is often but not always a history of childhood trauma. The daydream provides an escape from pain, loneliness and unhappiness. Most people with MD do not have a diagnosable dissociative disorder and most people with DID do not have MD. However, in some cases there is an overlap of MD and DID – in such cases, there are well structured alter personalities, with switching and amnesia, so the person meets criteria for MD. However, there are also features of MD, including a large cast of inner characters who may be mistaken for alter personalities. These MD characters do not have their own subjective sense of a separate identity, they do not come out or take control of the body, and therefore they do not cause amnesia. The host personality may not be able to tell the difference between MD characters and fully formed alter personalities and may therefore over-estimate the number of DID identity states that exist in their inner world. This can be important in treatment because the MD characters do not need to be engaged in therapy and the therapist cannot talk through to them. This doesn’t mean that the MD should be ignored, only that it should be regarded as an internal place to escape – the therapy focuses on building healthier coping and self-regulation strategies so that the MD is no longer needed.
Student theses
Aneta Gronová's Bachelor's thesis investigated the relationship between MD and visual imagery. The results from a sample of 231 respondents support the hypothesis that both vividness of visual and movement imagery relate to overall MD symptoms and kinesthetic symptoms. However, no relationship was found between kinesthetic symptoms and (external/internal) perspective preference.
Gronová, A. (2024). Maladaptive daydreaming and vividness of visual imagery. Bachelor’s thesis presented to the Department of Psycholog at Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Czech Republic.
As the warm early summer days approach, we hope this newsletter has provided valuable insights into the latest research and clinical studies on MD. While much progress has been made, there is still more to uncover about this complex and under-recognized condition. We are grateful to the researchers, clinicians, students and participants who are advancing our understanding of MD and paving the way for improved treatments. As you enjoy the sunny days ahead, we encourage you to stay informed and to get involved in advocating for MD awareness.
Wishing you a rejuvenating start to the summer season!
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