Maladaptive Daydreaming Test Explained
It is a questionnaire based on the MDS (Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale). The goal is to assess your fantasies, detecting any unusual or excessive urge to live in your imagination. Scientifically speaking, MD is a condition that prevents individuals from living their everyday lives by keeping them in a fantasizing state.
Quizzes such as the one on this page focus on MD symptoms and their extent. That is because imagination is a casual part of our brain function. It is important to diagnose people with Maladaptive Daydreaming only if they are extreme fantasizers.
This MD Quiz Is Based On MDS
In an article called “Development and validation of the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS),” Dr. Eli Somer and his team introduced a grading system. It consisted of fourteen questions about the intensity, content, and destructivity of one’s imagination. Although the test on this page has unique questions, it is based on the scaling system of the said paper.
Our Maladaptive Daydreaming test has three phases. Read on to learn about each section and how the quiz works.
· Content of Your Dreams
If you are a maladaptive daydreamer, your imagination is highly structured and vivid. Compared to a regular fantasy, people with MD have much more detailed and clear visions. Some have also reported hearing voices, seeing objects, or losing the sense of time/place due to their daydreams.
So, the first part of the Maladaptive Daydream test focuses on the extent of your visions. We want to find out how close your visions seem to be to reality. Please note that it is a self-report type of quiz. So, it relies on your honest answers to function.
· The intensity of Urge to Continue Dreaming
The second part of the Maladaptive Daydreaming test discusses your passion for your imagination. Most people with MD cannot resist the urge to get back to their fantasies. Some have spent years of their lives living in an unreal world because they could not stop it.
We must know how difficult or easy it is for you to avoid zoning out. The stronger the urge to create dreams, the more likely to have MD.
· Interference of Dreams with Your Life
The final section in the Maladaptive Daydreaming test is about how this condition affects your daily life. Are you unable to do your tasks due to your time-consuming fantasies? If yes, you probably have an MD. If not, it might be something less severe, like Immersive Daydreaming—or none.
Note: The quiz on this page is also an Immersive Daydreaming test. It can expose your fantasizing system’s type and extent simultaneously.
How to Know if You Are a Maladaptive Person Without a Test
You should look for the symptoms. While there is no clinical procedure to diagnose this condition, the following signs are commonly spotted among people with MD. If you have these indications, you can skip taking the Maladaptive Daydreaming quiz because you probably have it.
You Have Highly Structured Fantasies
One of the primary symptoms of MD is having extremely vivid, detailed, and structured fantasies. People with this condition create well-formed fictional characters, universes, and stories in their minds. Such individuals are capable of remembering every detail of their imaginations. And they often tend to develop them linearly and comprehensively.
You Spent Most of Your Waking Hours Dreaming
According to a 2016 research called “Maladaptive daydreaming: Evidence for an under-researched mental health disorder,” patients spent 56% of their waking hours fantasizing. So, if your day consists of 16 hours, you spend 8.96 hours it dreaming about different things. That is a lot of wasted time.
You Experience Movements While Zoning Out
The abovementioned research also claimed that 80% of people with MD have movements while daydreaming. So, if you physically or emotionally react to your visions, you are a candidate.
You Prefer Fantasizing Rather Than Doing Something in Real Life
If your imaginations stop you from living a normal life, you probably have a Maladaptive Daydreaming condition. People like you feel a strong urge to get back to their fantasizing state and continue their unreal scenarios no matter what. As a result, they gradually drift apart from a regular daily routine and have a limited social life.
Things to Consider Before Taking the Maladaptive Daydreaming Test
Lots of people only want to know if Maladaptive Daydreaming is bad or not. But the issue is deeper than that. Here are several things to have in mind before taking the test.
It is not a mental disorder.
MD is not in the DSM-5 book. That means it is not officially considered a mental disorder. So, you should not be worried about having a mental disease. Of course, it is still a condition that might damage your daily life. But again, it is not a psychological illness.
Immersive daydreaming is a common condition.
According to the most recent data, 16% of non-MD people also dedicate some of their time to fantasizing. So, daydreaming is common among humans.
It is not directly connected with your traumas.
Recent studies show that there is no direct link between your previous traumas and Maladaptive Daydreaming issues. Scientists used to suggest that high anxiety levels and sad memories could lead to this condition. But it is not a valid opinion anymore.
