by Mona Gallagher

Created on: June 11, 2007

Daydreams say everything about who you are and what defines you. They transport you to the realm of possibilities each time you allow them to draw you there. The good news is that they are yours alone, and you hold the only key that unlocks them. When structured purposefuly, they can help you stay focused on your goals and dreams.

If you admitted to having daydreams in Freud's day and in his period of influence, the chances are that you would've been diagnosed with a mental illness. He believed that only troubled and unfulfilled people engaged in daydreaming. Even as recent as the 1960s, teachers received training on how to combat daydreaming in the classroom.

We've come a long way in our perception.

Since the 1980s daydreams are deemed a healthy and normal activity. That's a good thing because studies also tell us that we spend one third to one half of our life daydreaming.

Daydreams are mental images that occur when we are relaxed, or not involved with a mental task that demands our focus. Daydreams might occur even in the midst of mental activity if we are bored.

There are many positive effects to daydreaming. Through daydreams, we can mentally rewind a tape that takes us back to pleasant situations, thereby, relieving stress. Or, we can return to a distressing situation and analyze it from a safe distance. We can mentally rehearse a situation, such as asking the boss for a raise. We can use visualization to bring us closer to our goals or we can just let our mind relax and wander. Daydreaming can fire up our imagination and lead us to successful ventures.

Daydreaming can be harmful to us also. If we consistently use daydreams to escape from present situations in order to avoid them, we learn to live in denial. Excessive daydreaming may be an indication of a more serious medical condition that needs to be addressed.

For the majority of us, daydreams offer us escape, relief, visualization of goals and relaxation from the harsh reality of life. It's your daydream.

Resources:
http://WebMD.com
http://answers.co m

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