Everyone daydreams but for those who spend most of their waking lives immersed in a self-created fantasy, daydreaming is like a secret addiction that they try their best to hide from others. Are you an excessive daydreamer? If you'd like to know the tell-tale signs of a high fantasy prone individual, read on.

Your daydreaming activities have a negative impact in your life.
Moderation is key even as you daydream. The average person daydreams but they don't have the need to return to specific daydreams as they go about their life. But for those who spin vivid and elaborate story lines for character(s) that reside within the alternate world of daydreams, they have the need to return to their fantasy world many times a day. And they're fully-aware of what they're doing and unfortunately, there's a guilty feeling that arises from this addictive activity. If you love your daydream world to the point of abandoning daily obligations, obviously, there's something amiss.

You exhibit expressive emotions while daydreaming.
When I was a young child, daydreaming while acting out the various qualities of the character that I was pretending to be was part of the game. I would talk in an accent that was different than my usual one and I would play out the distinct emotions of the imaginary character. While the habit may have started in childhood for those who daydream excessively, it continues as they become adults. And these adults may play out the emotions of their characters like an actor on a stage with no audience and they keep this well-hidden from others.


Keep it mind that people with maladaptive daydreaming know the line that distinguishes the real world and the world that they create in their minds. In other words, hard-core daydreamers are different from schizophrenics or psychotics. (Source)

You experience kinesthetic repetitive movements.
In a study of 90 self-identified excessive daydreamers, 79 per cent experienced kinesthetic repetitive movements while they daydreamed. These movements include tapping, pacing, rocking and shaking an object. Nevertheless, not all chronic fantasizers experience this. (Source)

You have a disturbed sleeping cycle because of your daydreams.
Some people lie in bed to daydream for hours on end and can't fall asleep or if they do sleep and end up waking up at some point in the wee hours of the morning, they start daydreaming to the point that it's a challenge to get out of bed.

You are triggered to daydream when exposed to certain activities.
Music, movies, books, video games and other media may act as daydreaming triggers.

After-effects of excessive daydreaming include dizziness, headaches and other physical symptoms.

In the next entry on the topic of abnormal mind wandering habits, I shall attempt to compile the underlying reasons that may cause some people to indulge in excessive fantasizing.

Image Credit:
Daydreamer painting by Thomas M. Thomson
Daydreamer painting by Andrew Ek
Daydreaming by Alina Chau