Mark Travers, PhD, talks with Eli Somer and Reut Brenner about the newest MD publication, Personality Traits and Maladaptive Daydreaming.
Mark Travers, Of TherapyTips.org recently sat down with two MD researchers, Eli Somer and Reut Brenner, to discuss their most recent findings. Here’s a brief excerpt from the article:
Can you talk a little bit about why you narrowed in on the traits of grandiosity, separation insecurity, and Anhedonia and their relationship with maladaptive daydreaming?
Eli Somer: We hypothesized that individuals with elevated MD would tend to address unmet emotional needs by engaging in compensatory fantasies specific to these personality needs. We thought that would be reasonable because the MD experience is reported to involve a powerful sense of presence, and is, thus, almost as good as “the real thing.” Consequently, we hypothesize that daydreaming content would be related to specific traits and, aimed at satisfying unmet psychological needs. The specific traits we sought to explore in this context were based on frequent (but not exclusive) mentions in online MD communities and my own clinical experience with patients who suffer from MD.
Reut Brenner: In previous studies, people with MD often described the unbearable gap between their vivid and exciting daydreams to their dismal and painful reality. Paradoxically, the growing need for excitement and instant gratification seems to increase the demand for fantasied thrills and reduces the experience of pleasure in reality, as in Anhedonia. We expected that personal characteristics and unmet reality needs would manifest in compensatory daydreaming themes. For example, we hypothesized that recurring daydreaming themes associated with self-worth, recognition, dominance, aggression, and control will likely be related to narcissistic traits. Similarly, we expected that daydreaming scenarios featuring caring and supportive relationships will be important for individuals with unmet security needs.
https://therapytips.org/interviews/what-is-maladaptive-daydreaming?fbclid=IwAR2n0iPuyi6xrGzFG4hQPkijtdZsPkBovKEDfKWyp5NOOZN2NnzorlC4dmk
To view the full article click HERE.