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I find it strange that adults don't daydream. I was one of those kids who live in his own head and was forever daydreaming and I as I grew up I never stopped h

I find it strange that adults don't daydream. I was one of those kids who live in his own head and was forever daydreaming and I as I grew up I never stopped helped I think by my early adult life been working on production lines/factories usually alone or so noisy ear protection was required removing any irrelevant conversation - I'd turn up, go onto autopilot and disappear into my head. I still do it now, if I'm walking along the riverbank near where I live the world recedes and I visualise how it must have looked hundreds or thousands years ago and imagine the people/animals around then and so on. It's both an escape hatch and a pressure valve for me - I also don't dream (or more correctly I do dream but maybe once ever couple of years I actually remember one) which I think is likely somehow connected. My partner finds it odd because she'll come into a room and I'll just be sat still staring into space completely unaware she's entered the room. This was a great article though, the idea of deliberately cultivating that state by sitting in an isolated place is attractive. There are days where I hate the modern world (while accepting all it's advantages) - the constant distractions, clamour for attention from everything, the splitting of time into tiny increments in which everything must be done, it often feels like the world is just slightly off axis and I don't fit. I've never found it an issue and an hour just sat in that state leaves me feeling refreshed and alert, the days where I feel the most flattened are the ones that are so busy that I don't get chance to do it.

atoav 7y ago
I have to say I daydream all the time. If you were to ask me when I last did it, it was half a minute ago staring out of the window of a train. I am however somebody who always did this more than other kids and never lost it really. I hate beeing distracted all the time, stops you from seriously thinking about yourself and the world you inhabit.
- magic_beans 7y ago
  When I was a kid, I had entire recurring plot lines of elaborate day dreams. These days my daydreams are more "realistic". I'm not fantasizing about riding unicorns and wielding ancient magic anymore, but I do daydream about starting my own company.
  - rakejake 7y ago
    +1. The downside, of course, is procrastination. Back when my plotlines were really farfetched, I really wasted a lot of time dreaming about all sorts of stupid (in hindsight) stuff. Sometimes I regret that if I had spent that time usefully, I could have done better for myself, though I think I have done pretty well for myself. I think excessive daydreaming is a form of anxiety Restricting the scope of my daydreams to align more with my actual goals (like starting a successful company, becoming an engineer of renown, making tons of money) was a very important step. It is closer to visualizing oneself as a successful person which, in general, is a good thing. It has also had the welcome side effect of curtailing the duration of my daydreams.
    - FranzFerdiNaN 7y ago
      This is such a sad comment. You threw away everything that doesn’t fit the standard capitalist idea of a good person, i.e. someone who is never wasting time making himself a better worker and making more money. And why? For money and fleeting fame.
      - rakejake 7y ago
        I still daydream a lot about crazy things. A steady diet of science fiction novels and movies feeds that habit so I am in no danger of losing my soul. Of course, I don't dream any longer about bringing world peace,curing cancer and winning the presidential election in the same week Lisa Simpson style. Instead, I dream of making a huge breakthrough in the search for AGI or something like that.
- dreamaway123 7y ago
  I can say I daydream all the time too and have been doing it since I was a child. Except that I lost it and it feels that I'm losing it more every day: I've already started talking and laughing aloud to the conversations I have in my mind while daydreaming even when someone is around (but I take care that it is silent enough). Makes me wonder if it is really dangerous or not. I wouldn't argue that it is definitely still a pleasure (compared to the childhood times)
samatman 7y ago
> I also don't dream (or more correctly I do dream but maybe once ever couple of years I actually remember one) Personal question, feel free not to answer: are you a regular cannabis user?
- noir_lord 7y ago
  Nope and other than a very brief dalliance 20 years ago never have been, don't drink alcohol either. My one 'vice' is coffee but even then in moderation.
- HappySweeney 7y ago
  I recently had to stop daily use due to an injury; I am now dreaming regularly for the first time in 20 years. I don't remember it being this intense an experience, though I also had to stop nicotine at the same time, so that may have had something to do with it.
ehnto 7y ago
I still daydream, every day. I can't imagine what it would be like to never think inward like that. Every now and then I feel like I need to put more into my day, and I'll try to do lots of things and see lots of people, but even then I'll still inadvertently day dream. There's always time somewhere. Maybe I'm just well practiced so it comes easily. I believe a lot of people don't know how to be bored, or how to be slow and engaged. The lack of daydreaming is just one symptom. They skim through every task just enough to get it done, so that they can move on to the next one. So not only are you never bored, you're never fully engaged either. If you are always moving fast you are often eager to move to the next task instead of being active and present with the current one. Technology trains us that we can fill in boredom, and simultaneously makes us unable to appreciate the stuff will fill it in with. Our reward loops become so short that we don't even finish what we're doing before looking for the next loop to start. We distract ourselves from our own enjoyment.

atoav 7y ago

I have to say I daydream all the time. If you were to ask me when I last did it, it was half a minute ago staring out of the window of a train. I am however somebody who always did this more than other kids and never lost it really. I hate beeing distracted all the time, stops you from seriously thinking about yourself and the world you inhabit.

magic_beans 7y ago
When I was a kid, I had entire recurring plot lines of elaborate day dreams. These days my daydreams are more "realistic". I'm not fantasizing about riding unicorns and wielding ancient magic anymore, but I do daydream about starting my own company.
- rakejake 7y ago
  +1. The downside, of course, is procrastination. Back when my plotlines were really farfetched, I really wasted a lot of time dreaming about all sorts of stupid (in hindsight) stuff. Sometimes I regret that if I had spent that time usefully, I could have done better for myself, though I think I have done pretty well for myself. I think excessive daydreaming is a form of anxiety Restricting the scope of my daydreams to align more with my actual goals (like starting a successful company, becoming an engineer of renown, making tons of money) was a very important step. It is closer to visualizing oneself as a successful person which, in general, is a good thing. It has also had the welcome side effect of curtailing the duration of my daydreams.
  - FranzFerdiNaN 7y ago
    This is such a sad comment. You threw away everything that doesn’t fit the standard capitalist idea of a good person, i.e. someone who is never wasting time making himself a better worker and making more money. And why? For money and fleeting fame.
    - rakejake 7y ago
      I still daydream a lot about crazy things. A steady diet of science fiction novels and movies feeds that habit so I am in no danger of losing my soul. Of course, I don't dream any longer about bringing world peace,curing cancer and winning the presidential election in the same week Lisa Simpson style. Instead, I dream of making a huge breakthrough in the search for AGI or something like that.
dreamaway123 7y ago
I can say I daydream all the time too and have been doing it since I was a child. Except that I lost it and it feels that I'm losing it more every day: I've already started talking and laughing aloud to the conversations I have in my mind while daydreaming even when someone is around (but I take care that it is silent enough). Makes me wonder if it is really dangerous or not. I wouldn't argue that it is definitely still a pleasure (compared to the childhood times)

samatman 7y ago

> I also don't dream (or more correctly I do dream but maybe once ever couple of years I actually remember one) Personal question, feel free not to answer: are you a regular cannabis user?

noir_lord 7y ago
Nope and other than a very brief dalliance 20 years ago never have been, don't drink alcohol either. My one 'vice' is coffee but even then in moderation.
HappySweeney 7y ago
I recently had to stop daily use due to an injury; I am now dreaming regularly for the first time in 20 years. I don't remember it being this intense an experience, though I also had to stop nicotine at the same time, so that may have had something to do with it.

ehnto 7y ago

I still daydream, every day. I can't imagine what it would be like to never think inward like that. Every now and then I feel like I need to put more into my day, and I'll try to do lots of things and see lots of people, but even then I'll still inadvertently day dream. There's always time somewhere. Maybe I'm just well practiced so it comes easily. I believe a lot of people don't know how to be bored, or how to be slow and engaged. The lack of daydreaming is just one symptom. They skim through every task just enough to get it done, so that they can move on to the next one. So not only are you never bored, you're never fully engaged either. If you are always moving fast you are often eager to move to the next task instead of being active and present with the current one. Technology trains us that we can fill in boredom, and simultaneously makes us unable to appreciate the stuff will fill it in with. Our reward loops become so short that we don't even finish what we're doing before looking for the next loop to start. We distract ourselves from our own enjoyment.