Author: Contributor

Someone struggling with chronic fantasy will find it difficult to keep in touch with reality. This is why they need all the help they can get. One of the reasons why people fantasize is because they need a way to escape their present circumstances.

Here are some ways to prevent chronic fantasy from happening

Identify the reason

When a problem is in play, you need to figure out why it is happening. If you find yourself frequently fantasizing, you need to discover the reason why.

You can ask yourself some important questions that are centered on your present circumstances. When you find out the reason why you are fantasizing, it becomes easier to tackle the problem.

Set actual goals

Sometimes people develop chronic fantasies because they don’t know how to set goals and meet them.

When you fantasize, it becomes challenging to meet your goals because you will spend most of your time daydreaming. It is better to set realistic goals and work towards meeting them.

Hence, if you end up fantasizing about your goals, you should work towards achieving them when you snap back to reality. Working towards your goals will help you ensure that the time you spend fantasizing is not wasted.

Surround yourself with people that have a healthy mindset

Another way to prevent chronic fantasy is to hang out with positively-minded people. You need the right set of people around you if you want to cut off some habits. Be with people who encourage you to be better, and will help you work towards achieving your goals.

Seek help from a professional

Overall, it is important to reach out to a professional mental health counselor or therapist for help. Sometimes, one of the best ways to prevent something is to have a professional on your side to guide you through.

You will learn some healthy activities that will help you replace fantasizing if you’ve started noticing some of the symptoms

Many experts have opined that it is normal to fantasize. And sometimes, it is regarded as a healthy activity that is part of our experience. However, there are some people that get lost in their fantasies that they find it hard to connect with reality.

When people fantasize to the point where it becomes a mental health problem, it becomes maladaptive daydreaming. This is when their fantasy replaces the human interaction that is connected to their relationships, work, and other activities.

Those who experience this mental health problem create some imaginary and likable character that fits what they want. If you want to know whether your fantasy is now a mental health problem or not, here are some of the signs.

Less focus on reality

One of the ways to know that your fantasy is now a mental health problem is when you pay less attention to reality. You will be more focused on daydreaming, hallucinations, and overactive imagination.

Also, you will try to avoid anything that may disconnect you from those moments when you are fantasizing. This means that you will prefer to stay in isolation instead of being around people.

Communication becomes more difficult

When fantasy becomes a mental health problem, you will notice that it gets more difficult to communicate with people. You are more focused on what is going on in your mind instead of what is happening around you.

Reduced productivity

If you notice that your productivity or performance in other aspects of your life isn’t as it should be, it might mean that your fantasy has progressed into a mental health problem.

You may notice that work does not look exciting to you as before, or you are not meeting up with the expectations of school work.

When you notice that you fantasize regularly, and it seems to cut you off from reality, you can seek help from a mental health counselor

Fantasizing involves the processing different thoughts in your mind. And most times, the thoughts are played out because you want it to. For instance, you could fantasize about being a popular influencer who will always be celebrated when they appear in public.

If you continue to fantasize, it plays out in your thoughts and if you work towards this, you might be able to achieve your dream. On the other hand, you might be ill-motivated to work towards this dream, and this can make you do things that are dangerous.  

Fantasizing becomes chronic when it develops into an unhealthy thought pattern. During this phase, the thoughts do not leave your head. At the same time, it would be impossible for you to do anything productive because you are not properly motivated.

This is one of the reasons why people would do things they will regret in the long run. People make the mistake of fantasizing for hours instead of making actionable plans to achieve their goals.

When you fantasize, it is important to back it up with feasible short and long-term goals. The main problem is, people find it hard to set good goals and objectives for themselves. This is why they would prefer to fantasize and day-dream instead of proper planning.

Anyone can fantasize but the danger lies in drowning yourself in fantasies and making it a compulsive and obsessive behavior.

The worst part is, when fantasizing becomes chronic, it might be challenging for you to remain in touch with reality. You will prefer to dwell in your thoughts instead of reality.

If you are having problems keeping in touch with reality because you fantasize, it is important to seek help. You need to help yourself by learning how to turn your fantasies into workable steps that would help you achieve your goals.

If you don’t seek help, you will discover that it would be difficult for you to achieve growth in some aspects of your life because you’ve spent more time fantasizing.  

For several people, fantasizing is one of the ways they escape from their sad and unpleasant times to imaginary happy times. The idea of fantasizing isn’t bad but it becomes disadvantageous when the individual fantasizes regularly. There are downsides of fantasies but many people are not aware of it.

Since fantasies work fine as an escape mechanism, you need to be careful not to be caught deep in it. You should work towards redirecting your thoughts and concentrating more so that you can remain alert and focused.

The amazing part about fantasies is, they can be productive, depending on how you channel them to aid your productivity.

To prevent yourself from fantasizing, the first thing you need to do is to take note of your fantasies.

When you pen down your fantasies, it would be easy to know why you have them. In addition, it would be easy to redirect your fantasies and channel your thoughts and imaginations into vital and creative activities.

Next, you need to learn more about your triggers. You might be surprised to see that you fantasize when you are doing a particular activity or maybe when a certain music is playing.

When you notice that your mind is wandering off at this point, you can call yourself back and write down what is happening.

After observing this, you can change your routine to avoid fantasizing when you are doing those regular activities. By all means possible, try to switch up your activities so that you can add spice to your normal routine.

With your fantasies, you can discover what you really want in life. If you are smart about it, you will discover that fantasies are not outright unproductive. So, you can seize this opportunity and forge a path for yourself with your fantasies.

The common mistakes that people make is, they fantasize and they fail to take actionable steps that would translate their fantasies into realizable goals.  

Fantasy has to do with processing different thoughts in your mind. All these thoughts are most times played out based on your resolve.

Fantasizing becomes an unhealthy pattern when these thoughts occur in your head staying for a long period without turning into something beneficial.

This can make someone lose it fully, and turn to other faster and hazardous methods.

In cases when the person has fantasies to be like a specific celebrity, it could get so bad the person could go to unthinkable lengths to make sure that they are seen in the same light.

Furthermore, another detrimental fantasizing thought pattern is interchanging relationships and friendships which are made in reality with creativities.

There is one mistake which people make in this case; they invest hours fantasizing about the ideal set of friends who they can always spend ample time with and who they can trust fully.

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In actuality, friends like this do not exist. No one is fully perfect, as everyone has shortcomings which are meant to show themselves at any period in time.

The best thing which can occur at this point, is to make attempts to meet people. You can start by asking for their names, knowing where they live, their hobbies and the likes.

Hence, it is necessary that even though fantasies are lovely, we should exercise care in ensuring that they do not take control over reality.

Unhealthy thought patterns are what cause addictions, and they cause diverse occurrences which leads to death in the long run.

A good number of factors help in fantasizing including the social media, books, movies amongst others. Fantasy should be avoided when they begin to interchange the importance of reality in our lives.

Fantasy becomes unhealthy when it damages you both physically and psychologically. You would begin to think of some patterns which are detrimental to your health in the long run.

You could see yourself as someone who would not be successful, and you might do something crazy.

Another negative effect which comes with fantasizing is, it causes depression, and with time, they become addicted to alcohol or drugs which makes them feel healthier. If the person does not exercise care, the individual could be moved to commit suicide.