Daydreamer

Mental Health Monday

I daydream a lot. My husband is always catching me mid-dream, and tries to snap me out of it. My oldest son does it, and so does my Mom. I am not sure if I can explain it. My eyes will become unfocussed, and become locked in on something, and I stare. I may blink, but barely. It can last a few seconds or a couple of minutes. I don’t really think about anything while I am doing it, its like my mind is taking a catnap. I love it, its like a little spa moment all to myself, I always feel good after a daydream. I think I do it more than most people though, I have to concentrate really hard when I am driving, because I can slip into a daydream even behind the wheel. I don’t know why I do this, I have been doing it since I was a little kid. Why do we daydream? Why do some daydream more than others?

“According to Wikipedia, a daydream is a visionary fantasy experienced while awake, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions. There are so many different types of daydreaming that there is still no consensus definition amongst psychologists.”

“Daydreaming may take the form of a train of thought, leading the daydreamer away from being aware of his or her immediate surroundings, and concentrating more and more on these new directions of thought. “

“While daydreaming has long been derided as a lazy, non-productive pastime, daydreaming can be constructive in some contexts. There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers , developing new ideas through daydreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians and physicists have developed new ideas by daydreaming about their subject areas.”

Daydreaming can be beneficial in many ways and, ironically, can actually boost productivity. It is  something almost everyone does naturally. Psychologists estimate that we daydream for one-third to one-half of our waking hours, although a single daydream lasts only a few minutes.

"Everything starts as somebody's daydream."-Larry Niven