Maladaptive Daydreaming vs Mind wandering – How To Tell the Difference

Maladaptive daydreaming is a psychological construct that explains a behavior but it is not an official disorder. There is not a lot that’s known about it, but it’s being researched more so we can better understand the prevalence, the characteristics of it and then how to treat it. Everyone daydreams to some extent. This is when you think about something that is unrelated to what you’re involved in. This is different from nocturnal dreams when you are asleep and don’t have conscious control over your thoughts. Daydreaming is a product of the default mode network which I’ve spoken about before. This is network of brain regions that are engaged in mental activity that runs in the background. This network is suppressed when you are purposely thinking about something. But when you let your mind wander from a task or intentional thought, the default mode network takes over. The usual mind wandering is unintentional and spontaneous. You can slip into it when you’re inactive. But you can also engage in purposefu