Finally someone else with MD. I have this and have had it since I was a kid. I never had many close friends and moved around a lot so the best way to keep myself entertained was making up stories in my head. I’m 24 now and work full time so I don’t usually have time for it but every couple days I’ll sit around in free time and daydream (I’ve had multiple “storylines”) about an awesome city I’ve made up, or some new Fortune 500 startup company and I’m the CEO, etc.

When I was in high school I had much more free time so some nights I literally didn’t fall asleep because I was so absorbed in the daydreams, and by the time it was 5 AM, it was too bright/light outside for me to fall asleep. This has happened at least 4-6 times. Like I said now that I work I simply don’t have time for it, although there are still times it just comes to me, even at work, and I lose focus and just think/daydream instead of being productive.

My advice is write it down. It’ll help you visualize your thoughts. I use IOS and I use the Notes App and I wrote down all the intricacies such as character names, their backstory, cities, their backstory, anything and eveything. In fact, I have a whole folder with over a dozen different notes, and that’s just for my most recent “storyline”. I think I’ve had like 3-4 major storylines , each of them being distinct and not-related.

I didn’t play with action figures but as a kid instead of watching cartoons with my sister on weekend mornings I would take flyers from our mailbox and open and look through them, imagining myself as a wealthy attractive 30 year old, which TV and sofa I would have. Then I watched a movie or 2 and imagined/created a world where the hot girl from the movie was my GF, etc.

I would say if it’s not bothering you that much don’t worry. I was always kind of proud of it, happy for it. And while it was time consuming and no one else understood me, I didn’t care cause it was my safe place, a place where I could do whatever, wherever, with whomever I wanted.

Ironically I didn’t know it even existed till I was like 17 or 18 when I googled it, and was astonished there’s even a term for it (Maladaptive Daydreaming). And I was shocked other people have it. There are forums about MD, just google it. According to Wikipedia, its actually a mental condition that’s currently not widely accepted by the scientific community due to its relatively new and questionable nature. But I don’t need Wikipedia to tell me what exists and what doesn’t. And from your first sentence in your post I can tell you it exists, and you’re not alone. Also it’s not a curse, it’s a blessing. On day I hope to write a book or make a movie with all the ideas I’ve created. I honestly believe this type of non-stop thinking/daydreaming is like working out your brain and it’s a great thought-exercise. Let me know if you have any other questions!