Does anyone else do this in order to fall asleep?

[ldontWanna]

I need (and I do mean need) to roleplay in my head before I go to sleep. A bit like a bedtime story. Mostly inspired from whatever book or tv show I'm currently reading/watching . When I have a bad night's sleep/can't fall asleep it's normally because my brain is buzzing so I can't focus on the "story" and keep coming out of it. Even when I'm exhausted I still do it but it might only take a few minutes before I drift off. Reading or listening to something before bed is not enough.

It came up today when talking to a friend and she said it was really weird and has never heard of it. She's the head on pillow , fast asleep type though.

So any others that need to do this to fall asleep?

Yep I do this every night without fail. It's basically part of my bedtime routine.

I used to replay Disney films in my head as a kid, The Little Mermaid was my favourite.

But now if I need help sleeping I play an “alphabet game” - I think of a subject, a book or tv series etc and have to think of a character or place beginning with each letter of the alphabet from that subject.

IE - Harry Potter…
A = Albus Dumbledore
B = Bill Weasley
C = Cornelius Fudge
etc etc

I give myself more credit if I think of an obscure word!
I very rarely get to the end of the game!

Other threads - you are not alone OP!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/feeling_depressed/3943647-Maladaptive-Daydreaming-support-thread?msgid=97603801#97603801

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4244243-Has-anyone-received-help-for-maladaptive-daydreaming

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3568128-Maladaptive-v-normal-daydreaming

I have done this ever since I was a child!

In my night time world i was the first female formula 1 champion
I have also been very rich and flown everywhere by private jet, with houses in multiple countries. Dated certain celebrities i shall not name
I also can't get to sleep without these daydreams. For me I think it's because I've never been able to just fall asleep, and if I don't imagine things I think about real stuff and get stressed or upset. I had an extremely difficult childhood so i think my escapism started then for that reason. It doesn't hurt anyone so i don't really care.

Surely it's a form of adaptive daydreaming if it's helpful and only maladaptive if it is detrimental in some way?

I design a house in order to wind down and fall asleep, I find it very calming. There are different houses for different lifestyles and different climates. So city apartment, costal modern minimalist, tropical indoor/outdoor house, vineyard villa or whatever I fancy. I start with the look from the outside, then design the room layout, then the technical stuff like type of heating, passive electricity generation, household automation. Finally I do the finishing, decorating and furnishing. Each house takes months of falling asleep, although sometimes I'm bored and stop or I'm inspired by something I've seen or read about and I flip over to a new house.

The 'current' house is set in the future and it's very clever.

I used to do this when I was younger, especially as a child - I had lots of different imaginary stories and a variety of different fictional universes to choose from at bedtime. Not maladaptive really but just imaginative - eg imagining what it would be like to live in Sweden in a forest, or create an island house after being washed up on a beach like Swiss Family Robinson! And for the fictional universes I had a host of different characters to make interact.

However as a child I took a long time to go to sleep every night so lots of time to imagine things. Nowadays I’m normally so tired I just conk out, or else I’m awake worrying about work/finances/stuff I have to do/house repairs/DD and so on. Wish I could concentrate on the fictional characters instead!

I replay my horse riding lessons except I’m a top class show jumper / dressage rider!

I imagine a fingerprint, try to see it in my mind's eye and travel round it. Empties my brain.

I’ve been mentally scripting a drama/documentary about the six wives of Henry the Eighth for over 30 years now. I’ve got the theme music sussed and the opening credits but I’m stuck on which actors to use…

I also plan my dream kitchen but it’s not just thinking about it, it’s a sort of 3D CAD film where I can move around my fabulous kitchen.

Yes, I've done this since I was a child. I don't need to do it but I do find it calming. I'm often in a historical scenario like the Iron Age. When I was a child I imagined being a parent and having 12 children! After realising how hard work children are I only had 3...

Just imagining stuff is not enough for me. I need the dialogue/role playing to quiet all the thoughts/voices bouncing round my head.

In mine the world is ending. About 200 people are going on a rocket to a new planet. I get to pick who goes out of all the people on earth.

Omg...I thought I was the only one who did this!

I do it too! I'm in scenes from novels or TV I enjoy, like it OP I have favourite ones that have gone on for years. Or at least I do when not exhausted by a frequently waking baby, currently I just have to sit down for a few minutes to sleep.
I'm fascinated by all the people who do up houses before sleep, that would really wake me up.

I do this too OP! I thought this was just me. I’ve found that if the me in the story has to ‘act’ going to sleep that’ll in turn help me go to sleep

@MrsPsmalls

In mine the world is ending. About 200 people are going on a rocket to a new planet. I get to pick who goes out of all the people on earth.

One of my favourites is on a similar theme. I'm telling no one this shit in real life 😂

Yes, I used to do this, especially as a child, but these days I just listen to the radio instead - it has to be talking, preferably drama.

What nonsense, maladaptive.

It's actually just daydreaming. Nothing maladaptive about it.

Just because an activity can be pathologised doesn't mean the activity itself is disordered. Scratching your face once isn't dermotillomania, feeling sad about a bad thing isn't depression, and imagination isn't dissociative absorption.

Yes I do this every night!

I do this too. I always have done & find it soothes and relaxes me in a way that reading doesn't.

I think there have been other threads too; I remember posting on one.

I agree, I don't like the term 'maladaptive'. It's only maladaptive if it interferes with every day life, and doing anything to excess will do that. Maladaptive gaming?

Nothing wrong with a bit of fantasy, especially as a winding down or relaxation technique.

I've been doing this for years! I've asked DP what he does as he's drifting off to sleep and he says he pretends he's about to score in a world cup final.

I have a role play or scenario in my head as I'm trying to go to sleep every night. I find it's so much better than worrying about something that has happened during the day or is going to happen the next day.

I do this. I kind of make up fan fiction stories.