Limited evidence for the effectiveness of SSRIs in treating maladaptive daydreaming, but therapy techniques for OCD and addiction may offer benefit. Efforts to recognize maladaptive daydreaming as a mental disorder are ongoing, with the establishment of the International Society for Maladaptive Daydreaming.
For two decades of Hannah Byford’s life, she kept a secret. When things at home got too much to bear, she’d retreat to an imagined life, inside her head — an elaborate daydream.