We all do it.
One moment you’re brushing your teeth, and the next you’re imagining a slow-burning romance unfolding in your head or a heroic rescue where, for some reason, everyone applauds you. These mental movies aren’t just random quirks; they reflect deeper psychological patterns. In fact, new research on daydreaming and its more intense cousin, maladaptive daydreaming, is revealing surprising things about why our minds slip into fantasy and what we’re actually trying to regulate, avoid, or express while doing it.
Daydreaming: Your Brain’s Default “What If?” Machine
Daydreaming is more than a distraction; it’s a kind of spontaneous, immersive imagination that kicks on when the mind isn’t occupied by a demanding task (Lawson & Thompson, 2024). Philosophers and cognitive scientists argue that daydreams are often story-like, emotionally coloured, and surprisingly very personal (Lawson & Thompson, 2024). They’re essentially mental playgrounds where the brain experiments with identity, possibility, and emotion.
When Fantasy Becomes the Go-To Coping Strategy
When casual imagining is normal, some people slip into more intense, compulsive fantasy lives, a pattern known as maladaptive daydreaming (Mancinelli et al., 2024). This involves vivid plots, recurring characters, and hours spent immersed in elaborate mental worlds. Researchers describe it as a blend of deep absorption, emotional immersion, and difficulty disengaging (Mancinelli et al., 2024). Individuals may pace, sway, or play music to heighten the experience, almost turning the daydream into a ritual.
But here’s the twist: despite being labelled maladaptive, fantasy can actually serve a purpose.
Recent findings suggest people often use intense daydreaming as a way to regulate emotions, especially when they’re stressed, bored, lonely, or overwhelmed (Mancinelli et al., 2024). Some studies even show that daydreaming temporarily reduces anxiety and negative thinking, almost like releasing a mental pressure valve (Mancinelli et al., 2024). The relief is short-lived, though, and over time, the cycle can become compulsive.
What Your Imagined World Says About You
Here’s the fun part: your daydreams double as psychological fingerprints. They reflect who you are, what you long for, and what you fear. So, which one describes you?
Grandiose daydreamers
Some people fantasize about power, admiration, or heroic success (Brenner et al., 2021). These dreams often emerge when someone feels overlooked or stuck, and the fantasy world offers a place where they’re finally the star. Those with grandiose traits tend to gravitate toward fantasies of dominance, perfection, or dramatic triumphs (Brenner et al., 2021).
Attachment-Based Dreamers
Others imagine perfect relationships, comforting friendships, or idealized families; worlds where they are loved, chosen, and safe (Costanzo et al., 2021). This pattern is especially strong among people with anxious or fearful attachment styles. Daydreaming becomes a substitute for the closeness they fear they won’t get in a relationship (Costanzo et al., 2021).
Escape artist
For those who struggle to find pleasure in daily life, fantasy offers a burst of reward. People with anhedonia (difficulty experiencing pleasure) often craft intense, action-filled, or dramatic scenarios as emotional escape routes from boredom or distress (Brenner et al., 2021).
Fantasy Powered by the Feed
TikTok, Instagram, and fan communities function as shared generators of imagination. POV videos, fictional edits, romantic tropes, and character-driven content give people pre-set templates for their fantasies. For individuals already prone to escapism or insecure attachment, social media can become both a trigger and an extension of their inner world (Costanzo et al., 2021). Studies show that maladaptive daydreaming can even mediate the relationship between insecure attachment and problematic social media use (Costanzo et al., 2021). Fantasy fills emotional gaps, and social media feeds the fantasy.
So… Is Daydreaming Good or Bad?
Like most psychological tools, it all depends on how you use it. Healthy daydreaming boosts creativity, helps with emotional processing, and sparks new ideas (Baer et al., 2021). Excessive or compulsive daydreaming, on the other hand, can lead to avoidance, procrastination, and difficulty connecting with real-life goals or relationships (Brenner et al., 2022).
At its core, fantasy is a human instinct. Whether we’re imagining love, safety, success, or escape, our inner stories reveal what we need, what we fear, and who we hope to become!
REFERENCES
Baer, M., Dane, E., & Madrid, H. P. (2021). Zoning out or breaking through? Linking daydreaming to creativity in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 64(5), 1553-1577. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2017.1283
Brenner, R., Somer, E., & Abu-Rayya, H. M. (2022). Personality traits and maladaptive daydreaming: Fantasy functions and themes in a multi-country sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 184, 111194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111194
Costanzo, A., Santoro, G., Russo, S., Cassarà, M. S., Midolo, L. R., Billieux, J., & Schimmenti, A. (2021). Attached to virtual dreams: The mediating role of maladaptive daydreaming in the relationship between attachment styles and problematic social media use. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 209(9), 656-664. DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001356
Lawson, E., & Thompson, E. (2024). Daydreaming as spontaneous immersive imagination: A phenomenological analysis. Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, 5. https://doi.org/10.33735/phimisci.2024.9913
Mancinelli, E., Spisto, S., Sukhija, V. J., & Salcuni, S. (2024). Maladaptive daydreaming as emotion regulation strategy: exploring the association with emotion regulation, psychological symptoms, and negative problem-solving orientation. Current Psychology, 43(35), 28578-28589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06487-3