May 21, 2009
In my last post, I reviewed some research findings on the benefits of daydreaming. While not totally backtracking on that, I did want to qualify it a bit. I believe that there are very few things in life that are 100% good or 100% bad…life is more complex than that. For instance, drinking water is good for us…keeps us hydrated, numerous health benefits, and so on. Drinking too much water can lead to death by water intoxication…no kidding.
So, yes daydreaming can be beneficial. However, if we daydream too much…we keep visiting La-La Land…it might interfere with work and other activities that we should be doing. If a student daydreams all during class, then he might miss out on important lessons. If we daydream too much when we are around our friends, it can harm our relationships. “Uh, Cindy, what was that you were saying? Something about leaving your husband? I, uh, didn’t really catch it. I was daydreaming…sorry about that!”
Also, daydreaming can be like someone randomly pushing channels on the remote control. By definition, when we are daydreaming, we are not consciously controlling our thoughts. Thus, our thoughts might drift too negative or unsettling thoughts – especially if we are already prone toward feelings of anxiety and depression. As if drawn by a magnet, some people’s minds immediately gravitate toward very distressing thoughts the minute they drift from the task at hand:
Far from daydreams, these are like daymares. They are rarely productive or beneficial and are responsible for much of the suffering that we experience in life. So, what do we do about this problem – when to daydream and when not to? Stay tuned! I’ll cover this in my next post.
Filed under Happiness & Well-Being, Negative Moods & Emotions