Thanks for the interesting article, bluebicycle! I'm glad you posted about that, because that makes me realize that I should be clear that I don't mean "wandering mind" in the sense of sitting in a class, but instead of paying attention to a teacher, rather thinking "I wonder what I want for dinner", "Do you think he might like me?", or "I think I'm not smart enough to get a good grade in this class." I'm more referring to daydreaming where one is actively creating stories in one's mind, like as if a movie or soap opera. Thinking through long scenarios or screen plays, of sorts, with extreme details of dialogue and mental images. I know all people do that to a small degree, but maladaptively is an extreme. I wonder if there is a differential, on the whole, between the amount of time and detail that many people with bipolar disorder daydream, at times, and those without bipolar disorder. When I refer to maladaptive daydreaming, it could be daydreaming almost non-stop for several hours in a day. Often to the point where when others are speaking to you, you are barely able to listen. Daydreaming in bed. In the bathroom. In a car. At work. Almost non-stop. Almost living or observing hours and hours of another life. Sometimes when that "story" is exhausted/finished, starting over again with perhaps a slightly different version, or moving onto something totally new. Perhaps forgetting to eat or bathe, at its worst.

childofchaos, I'm sorry to read that you daydream maladaptively. I believe, in some form, it should be included in the DSM. It can be distressing or at the least disabling, to various degrees.

bpcyclist, I could certainly see a relationship between intense daydreaming and PTSD. In my particular case, my maladaptive daydreaming seemed to even cause dissociative symptoms. I now wonder how much (at least mine) was related to depression, mania, anxiety, some obsessive compulsive tendencies, or the like. It's something I wish was explored further.