Extreme Imagination: A Guide to Overcoming Maladaptive Daydreaming

by Kyla Borcherds

Heal from maladaptive daydreaming with the first book to be endorsed by leading clinicians and researchers in the field.

Are you constantly imagining scenarios that will never happen? Do the stories in your head disconnect you from the world around you? Would your life be so much better if you could shut off the mental movie that’s always playing in the background?

Kyla Borcherds lived with maladaptive daydreaming for over 40 years. In this groundbreaking book, she dispels the myths surrounding maladaptive daydreaming and shares the four-step plan that she used to break her addiction to her imaginary life and start living fully in the real one.

Inside Extreme Imagination you will learn:
- What maladaptive daydreaming is and why you became trapped in it
- Why maladaptive daydreamers usually have poor mental health
- How to release the shame you feel about being a daydreamer
- What your daydreaming is trying to protect you from
- The tips and tricks that will help you take control of your daydreaming
- How to build a real life that can compete with your imaginary one

Packed with useful tips and relatable anecdotes, Extreme Imagination shows you how to heal from your compulsive story-weaving without abandoning your stories or your characters. If you want to turn your imagination from a debilitating addiction into a powerful creative tool, this book is for you.

Genres: Psychology

266 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2024

About the author

Kyla Borcherds is a writer, mum, mental-health geek and lifelong daydreamer. In 2018, she learned that the “stories in her head” had a name – maladaptive daydreaming. And that started her on a quest to understand and tame her vivid imagination. In healing from maladaptive daydreaming, she discovered the importance of overcoming shame, confronting trauma and reconnecting with her authentic self. She reinvented herself, overcame decades of depression and turned her daydreaming from a damaging addiction into a powerful tool for self-development. She is now committed to helping other maladaptive daydreamers do the same.

Kyla is a prominent member of the maladaptive daydreaming community and the author of The Daydream Place, one of the largest blogs devoted to immersive and maladaptive daydreaming.

Kyla left a lengthy publishing career in 2021 to focus full-time on her writing. She lives in Birmingham, UK, with her husband, children and a few very special fictional characters.

Reviews

[Gisela Moreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely gave some good advice and I'm sure if I stick to it it'll work.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A warm and supportive guide to understanding maladaptive daydreaming. The author shares her own experiences openly, making the book feel relatable and validating, while also offering clear explanations and practical strategies for managing MD. Highly recommended for anyone seeking both comfort or guidance.

[Anna G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of helpful information and advice in it, as well as QR codes to activity pages that can help guide you through monitoring and improving your habits. However the author repeatedly takes a pro-immersive daydreaming approach, which goes against what I believe to be my best interests. I’m sure this is a desirable outcome for others the book is targeted towards, though. This one probably won’t stay on my shelf, I will likely be referring back to several sections going forward, using it as a pep talk when I need it.

[Sumnat]

Can anyone suggest me where I can buy this book. I am unable to get it anywhere neither on Amazon nor on any other site.