Unraveling the Pathology of Compulsive Daydreaming: A Study on the Unique Clinical Features and its Distinction from ADHD

2023-06-24 15:00:00

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology suggests that being constantly on the moon is a true psychiatric pathology.

An imaginary activity, disconnected from reality

Researchers studied ‘compulsive daydreaming disorder’, known in English as ‘maladaptive daydreaming’, to determine if it was a different mental illness than ADHD (attention deficit disorder). .

This disorder was first described in 2002 by Israeli psychologist Eli Somer.

Compulsive daydreaming disorder is a behavior associated with many mental illnesses, although it is not officially recognized by psychiatrists. It manifests in intense daydreams that can last for hours and occur daily. During a crisis, the person is disconnected from reality and makes movements or adopts expressions associated with their imaginary activities (facial expressions, lip movements, repetitive gestures, laughter, tears, etc.).

Unique clinical features distinct from ADHD

To find out more, the study authors asked 98 people with ADHD to list their symptoms via an online questionnaire. They found that 17 people also suffered from compulsive daydreaming.

“Only 20.5% of patients with ADHD met the diagnostic criteria for compulsive daydreaming disorder. And compared to participants with ADHD alone, members of this subgroup were less confident overall, were more depressed and suffered more from loneliness”, explain the scientists.

They thus concluded: “Compulsive daydreaming disorder has unique clinical features that are distinct from ADHD. Future research should be conducted to better differentiate between compulsive daydreaming, ADHD, and related concepts such as mind wandering.”

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