By Dr Wanda Fischera
Clinical Psychologist and MD Researcher
Instagram: @beyondmaladaptivedaydreaming
The Impact of Our Inner Worlds and How to Improve Our Well-Being
“Is this all real? Or is it just happening inside my head?” Harry Potter asks Dumbledore in The Deathly Hallows. Dumbledore’s reply is simple yet profound: “Of course, it’s happening inside your head, Harry. Why should that mean that it’s not real?”
I expect that this line resonates deeply with many maladaptive daydreamers, offering a perspective that validates the significance of their inner experiences. Dumbledore’s wisdom reminds us that our thoughts and feelings hold emotional significance, even if they only exist in our minds.
But why do daydreams feel so real? As a psychologist researching maladaptive daydreaming, I’ve often reflected on this question, and research offers intriguing insights into the inner workings of our minds — and how these experiences can influence our overall well-being.
Not just in our minds
When we watch a scary movie, our heart rate rises, and our palms sweat. Similarly, when we read a captivating story, we might feel excitement, sadness, or even fear. The story pulls us in, and the emotions it evokes feel authentic. This is how some people with maladaptive daydreaming describe their daydreams: the characters matter deeply, the storylines are gripping, and the emotions triggered by these imagined worlds are vivid and real. The daydreams aren’t just in the mind; they resonate physically, creating sensations in the body.
In relation to immersive daydreaming, research evidence may point to an important aspect that has been highlighted by maladaptive daydreamers all over the world: the content of these daydreams directly affects mood and well-being. As a daydreamer, you may have noticed this in your own life, when pleasurable daydreams may fill you with joy and excitement. Conversely, dark daydreams or events happening in the daydreams that are less pleasant can dampen your mood and bring up emotions such as sadness, grief, or guilt.
Research shows that imagery can be very powerful in triggering emotions. Our brain is not very good at distinguishing a visual, inner image from reality, so it will often process and respond to an image, as if it is something occurring.
Studies using neuroimaging techniques (like fMRI) have shown that when people engage in mental imagery, many of the same brain regions are activated as when they are actually perceiving the real-world equivalent. This includes areas involved in sensory processing, emotion, and memory.
So, visualising emotional events can trigger the autonomic nervous system and amygdala much like experiencing those events in real life, resulting in physical responses (Kosslyn et al., 2001). For instance, imagining a threatening situation can elevate heart rate, skin conductance, and breathing rate.
So, the imagined scenarios may not exist physically, but their emotional and psychological impact is undeniably real. These emotional and physiological responses illustrate the power of the inner world.
The Role of Thoughts in Well-Being
Scientific evidence underscores the importance of our internal world. Studies show that thought-wandering and past-oriented thoughts (such as reminiscing about past events) are linked to mood.
For instance, rumination about past events often leads to negative emotions and decreased well-being, and has been identified as a mechanism for depression and anxiety.
Interestingly, this relationship is bi-directional: negative moods can trigger mind-wandering, while frequent mind-wandering can amplify negative emotions (Zhou et al., 2020).
In the context of daydreaming, this may suggest that the content of our daydreams can influence our mood too, and our mood increases the urge to immersively daydream, creating a cycle. For some, who experience aversive daydreams, this link can create the experience of being out of control and overwhelmed during and after immersion.
Psychological therapies also recognize the profound connection between thoughts and emotions. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), for instance, is based on the premise that changing our thoughts can influence how we feel. By identifying and rethinking negative or unhelpful thought patterns, we can shift our emotional responses. Thoughts can be visual images, memories, or, in this instance, daydreaming content.
Taken together, both research and practice-based evidence acknowledges the power of the inner experiences, be it thoughts, memories, mind-wandering or immersive daydreams.
Although daydreams exist only in the mind, they can evoke real emotions and physical sensations, making them a significant part of our lived experience. This interplay between the immersion and emotions highlights the need to understand and manage our inner experiences.
From Maladaptive Daydreaming to Mindful Living
One of the most robust findings in MD is that daydreaming often serves as a form of emotional regulation. Daydreaming allows individuals to escape stress, boredom, or difficult emotions—but it can also become a double-edged sword. While daydreaming can be a tool for emotional regulation in the short-term, excessive or maladaptive daydreaming can interfere with daily life.
Research suggests that learning to notice, label, and manage emotions can reduce reliance on maladaptive coping mechanisms (Chambers et al., 2009).
This involves cultivating meta-awareness—the ability to step back and observe our thoughts without getting swept up in them. Meta-awareness can be cultivated through various strategies, with the most accessible and beneficial is being mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice that involves focusing on the present moment non-judgmentally.
Mindfulness practices can help daydreamers develop healthier ways of managing emotions and be present to prevent immersion. In fact, research supports this approach. Herscu et al.’s (2023) intervention study found that an online self-monitoring and mindfulness training had positive outcomes on various aspects of wellbeing for maladaptive daydreamers.
A study with Virtual Reality
One fascinating study (Crescentini et al., 2016) explored mindfulness in a different immersive context: virtual reality (VR). Participants completed an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course before experiencing immersive VR emergency scenarios. Compared to a control group, the mindfulness group showed reduced anxiety, lower heart rates, and improved physiological responses, suggesting that cultivating mindfulness can help combat some of the unpleasant impacts of emotional immersion.
For those who struggle with unwanted slipping into immersion when feeling unpleasant emotions, cultivating mindfulness and emotional regulation skills can be transformative. By learning to notice and accept emotions, we can reduce their intensity and regain a sense of control. This process involves experiencing emotions fully, expressing them appropriately, and taking actions that support well-being – in other words: avoidance and escape keep you stuck, the only way out is through. Over time, these practices help reduce the reliance on daydreaming as a coping mechanism.
Practical Tips
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your inner experiences or sought to harness their positive potential, here are some strategies to consider:
- Practice Present-Moment Awareness/Mindfulness
Engage fully in everyday activities. For example, focus on the taste and texture of your food during meals. When brushing your teeth, notice the movement of your hand, the taste of the toothpaste, and the sensation of the bristles. Simple acts of mindfulness can anchor you in the present. - Reflective Journaling
Write about your thoughts and feelings to gain clarity and perspective. Pay attention to recurring themes in your daydreams and consider how they relate to your emotions or recent life events. - Mindful Breathing
Spend a few minutes each day focusing on your breath to ground yourself in the present moment. Use techniques such as “box breathing” or simply set aside time to notice the rhythm of your breath. When your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breathing—this repetition helps train your mind to stay present. - Visualisation
Use guided imagery to create calming mental scenarios. This can be particularly helpful during stressful times. People with maladaptive daydreaming may find this especially effective, as their strong imaginations make visualisations vivid and engaging. Following a guided imagery script can help train your mind to focus on positive, wellbeing-enhancing scenarios. Please note, this visualisation should not engage your creativity in terms of building a story line, it is about training your brain to focus on a specific image sequence and harnessing its positive impact. - Emotion Labelling
When emotions arise, notice the shift and name them (e.g., “I’m feeling anxious”). Labelling emotions can feel tricky at first, but it’s a powerful step toward processing them effectively and reducing their intensity.
Conclusion
Dumbledore’s words remind us that our inner experiences are valid and meaningful. Daydreams, though intangible, carry emotional and physiological weight, shaping our emotional experiences and mood. Understanding the psychology behind daydreaming allows us to use our inner worlds as tools for growth and healing.
Whether through mindfulness, reflective journaling, or visualization, the journey inward offers a path to greater self-awareness and resilience. It can also offer a way to reduce unwanted immersion and be more present on a daily basis. After all, just because it’s happening inside our heads doesn’t mean it isn’t real in its own way.
Bibliography
Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009). Mindful emotion regulation: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(6), 560–572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.06.005
Crescentini, C., Chittaro, L., Capurso, V., Sioni, R., & Fabbro, F. (2016). Psychological and physiological responses to stressful situations in immersive virtual reality: Differences between users who practice mindfulness meditation and controls. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 304–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.02.031
Herscu, O., Somer, E., Federman, A., & Soffer-Dudek, N. (2023). Mindfulness meditation and self-monitoring reduced maladaptive daydreaming symptoms: A randomized controlled trial of a brief self-guided web-based program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 91(5), 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000790
Kosslyn, S. M., Ganis, G., & Thompson, W. L. (2001). Neural foundations of imagery. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2(9), 635–642. https://doi.org/10.1038/35090055
Zhou, H.-X., Chen, X., Shen, Y.-Q., Li, L., Chen, N.-X., Zhu, Z.-C., Castellanos, F. X., & Yan, C.-G. (2020). Rumination and the default mode network: Meta-analysis of brain imaging studies and implications for depression. NeuroImage, 206, 116287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116287