MuseumGhost, thanks so much for the info. Very interesting stuff!
I majored in psychology in college, and I've been in therapy since the age of 16 which was literally decades ago, and I read extensively in psychology, so I have NO IDEA why I'd never heard of Maladaptive Daydreaming until a few days ago. Maybe it's something to do with how spaced-out I get?!
I've been doing this since I was a child. I never knew it was a "thing", I thought it was just something I did. Part of my overall weirdness lol. So when I first heard about this thing a few days ago it kind of freaked me out. And for some reason I've been really upset ever since. I don't really feel "validated" at all, I feel like somebody's gotten into my head or invaded my privacy or something. Because this is something I never ever shared with anyone, including a long line of therapists.
I know why I do it. My own life is one long disappointment. I never really liked being me, I'd far rather be someone else. I've tried doing practical things to make my life more satisfactory, but somehow it always blew up in my face and only made things worse. So I decided to stick to the fantasy, since it's better than reality
IMHO, reality is
seriously overrated!
I guess I'm just weird.