My Story

For six years, maladaptive daydreaming had control over my life. I would cancel plans with friends just to stay in my room for hours, lost in my daydreams. I remember lying awake all night replaying the same scenarios in my head. It affected everything: my focus to work, my relationships with friends and family members, my confidence... And the worst part? No one seemed to understand. Therapists would tell me, “daydreaming is normal, we all do it”, which only made me feel more alone.

Everything started to change when I discovered a strategy called implementation intentions (an “if-then” plan to redirect behavior). With effort and consistency, I began to take back control. That small step sparked something big: the realization that healing from maladaptive daydreaming was possible.

I wanted to understand this on a deeper level, so I went on to do a Master’s degree in Psychology at Maastricht University, where I conducted a study with 12 participants. The results confirmed what I’d experienced myself: implementation intentions are simple, affordable, and effective for cutting down daydreaming time. But the research also made something clear: true recovery isn’t about quick fixes. It’s about uncovering the reasons behind daydreaming, meeting those needs in real life, and having ongoing support while you do it.

This realization inspired me to create the Maladaptive Daydreaming Recovery Program.

For half a year, I’ve been coaching maladaptive daydreamers from all over the world. My work isn’t just about daydreaming less; it’s about addressing everything that comes with being a maladaptive daydreamer: uncovering what you may have been escaping from, rebuilding your life so that it feels exciting to live in it, managing your emotions without using your daydreams as an escape, building real-life confidence you may have only experienced in your daydreams, improving social skills you were not able to develop as a maladaptive daydreamer, and facing goals you might have avoided for years because it was always easier to “achieve” them in your daydreams.

I’ve seen incredible transformations in the people I coach. Those who once felt trapped in endless fantasies are now building meaningful relationships, pursuing goals they only dreamed of, and feeling present in their everyday lives. Their journeys have proven what I learned from my own story: healing from maladaptive daydreaming is possible, and that includes you.