"Peeling Back Another Layer of Yourself": An interpretive phenomenological analysis of disclosures about maladaptive daydreaming

This study reports an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of disclosure experiences of people with maladaptive daydreaming (MD). Maladaptive daydreaming is characterised by distress and dysfunction due to long periods of immersion in fantasies that are fanciful and compulsive. MD has been shown to be a highly isolating experience whereby people with MD often feel lonely and are secretive about their fantasising, reducing opportunities for support. Little is known about how people with MD decide to disclose their daydreaming and the associated outcomes of the disclosures. Semi-structured interviews with 10 participants with MD were analysed using IPA. This inductive approach investigated participants' subjective experiences of disclosure to significant others and therapists about MD. Three analytic themes were identified with eight subthemes: 1) The Secret Lives of Daydreamers, 2) "Peeling Back Another Layer of Yourself", and 3) Longing to Be Understood. Participants experienced their disclosures to significant others and therapists to be mixed, where they often felt misunderstood and invalidated. Findings highlight the importance of understanding the shame and ambivalence felt by people with MD when disclosing, including when accessing therapy. It is recommended that the individual experience of MD is explored in therapy through a person-centred and non-judgmental therapeutic approach. The results are discussed in relation to wider literature and future recommendations are included. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier B.V.]