Living in what doesn’t exist

Living in what doesn’t exist doesn’t sound logical, but it’s possible.

It may present itself as a vision, a dream, or simply a fragment of your imagination.

Photo by Stefano Pollio on Unsplash

Drifting into a void where being unreachable and untouchable feels refreshing. Allowing memories and thoughts to float freely, without a care in the world.

Soaring into a void that can be turned into any fantasy imaginable sounds like a dream.

That dream becomes familiar. Almost like a separate reality outside of what you presently live.

It shows up repetitively when triggered. Lingers for a couple minutes— maybe even hours.

These triggers could stem from emotions, stress, or even boredom

Instead of seeing the life currently around you— you see an illusion of what life was… or what life could’ve been.

It feels like remembering or it may even feel like reminiscing, but that’s how you start to get encaged.

Encaged in a cycle of disappearing from the present moment to enter into a world of safety and security.

Although that separate world you created that holds that sense of safety and security feels real, unfortunately it’s not.

It’s an illusion your brain created in order to protect you from what your mind perceived as a threat.

That illusion prevents you from being present in what you are experiencing. It prevents you from being grounded in your day to day life.

That illusion corresponds with maladaptive daydreaming.

Maladaptive daydreaming is a pattern of excessive daydreaming that goes beyond normal imagination.

This creative imagination stops serving the purpose of creating for self fulfillment and starts to be used as a coping mechanism.

That’s how people remain encaged— by building a separate home outside of reality.

That false sense of safety and security is what keeps the coping mechanism alive, and that’s what fuels the illusion.

How do you escape?

The goal isn’t to destroy the illusion completely— the goal is to be more present in your actual life.

It’s important to know that you have complete control over your mind.

You are not your thoughts

The moment you let your thoughts control you— you no longer act intentionally.

Remaining intentional and staying grounded keeps you present.

Stepping away from your imagined world doesn’t mean abandoning it entirely.

It means intentionally transitioning from drifting into illusion to staying present and acknowledging reality— even when things get tough.

By choosing presence over illusion, you allow yourself to fully experience your real life— Instead of living it mentally.

When you find yourself imagining, is to be creative or is it to escape?

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Don’t miss out on my rebrand and reinvention series. Get started with part one down below ⬇️