The Online Maladaptive

Daydreaming Treatment Program

-
Program Booklet
Oren Herscu, Eli Somer & Asaf Federman

The International Consortium of Maladaptive Daydreaming Research (ICMDR)

University of Haifa
 July 2019
Dear participant,

Congratulations! You just finished the eight-week online MD treatment program.

As learned in the first lessons – changing your behavior is not an easy task.
If you completed the lessons on time, followed the program’s instructions, and practiced the home
assignments daily - you are probably seeing some positive results.
We hope you may have adopted some useful ways of controlling your daydreaming habits.

We appreciate your persistence and we hope you are proud of your hard work.
However, your achievement must be maintained to prevent a relapse into your old habits.
You should persevere with your daily practice to preserve or even improve your gains.

The attached booklet includes all the program’s lessons and their home practice assignments. You
may find that clicking on a video or audio in this PDF handbook will link you to an internet address, in
which you can watch, listen, and download the program's files.

We kept reminding you that - “what you practice will grow stronger”, and we stand by this reminder.

Remember that you are not alone in this journey. We are fully committed to help you make the
most out of this program. Still, some of you might benefit from supplemental psychotherapy to deal
directly with some of the issues MD helped you cope with.

Please contact us if you are having any problem or questions.

With best wishes for success,

Oren Herscu and Eli Somer

P.S. In three months, we will send you an important follow-up questionnaire. It is scientifically vital
that you complete it carefully and promptly. Thank you, again, for your cooperation.
 Table of contents

Week 01………………………………………………………………………………………………………04
Home Practice Assignments 01……………………………………………………………………12
Week 02………………………………………………………………………………………………………13
Home Practice Assignments 02……………………………………………………………………18
Week 03………………………………………………………………………………………………………19
Home Practice Assignments 03……………………………………………………………………23
Week 04………………………………………………………………………………………………………24
Home Practice Assignments 04……………………………………………………………………30
Week 05………………………………………………………………………………………………………31
Home Practice Assignments 05……………………………………………………………………35
Week 06………………………………………………………………………………………………………36
Home Practice Assignments 06……………………………………………………………………41
Week 07………………………………………………………………………………………………………42
Home Practice Assignments 07……………………………………………………………………46
Week 08………………………………………………………………………………………………………47
Home Practice Assignments 08……………………………………………………………………56

All components of this research program and the concomitant online intervention program are the
intellectual property of the researchers. Only they have the exclusive rights to use and distribute this
program. The researchers of this program retain the right to both grant and revoke permission to
take part in this study. Permission granted to participate in the research applies exclusively to the
person to whom the authority was given and who had signed this informed consent form.
The study’s intervention program should not be used in any way other than according to the
procedures and rules of this study. In particular, it is prohibited to copy, distribute and publish any
material of the program (including videos, audios, pictures, explanatory diagrams, texts, the
structure of the program and of individual lessons, home tasks and anything else that is presented to
you during the intervention program) without explicit written permission from the research team.
Also, under no circumstances may you transfer to another person or publish anywhere the Internet
address, user name and password you will have received from the researchers. Participant who will
violate these conditions will be in violation of this agreement and of academic copyright law, forcing
us to take administrative and other steps. Thank you for your understanding.
For any further questions or additional information, contact us at [email protected]
 WEEK 1

This lesson will take 60 minutes.

Please begin the lesson only if you have the time required.
60
In today's lesson you will learn about maladaptive daydreaming (MD)
(MD),
and the three-minute breathing spacespace.

Welcome to Your First Lesson

Greetings and welcome to this eight-week program in which you will learn to control and reduce the time
you spend daydreaming.
Each week a new lesson will be presented, provided that you finished the previous lesson.
Follow the instructions in each lesson, and at the end check the box and click “Done”.
Only by doing so will you be considered to have successfully participated in the lesson.
Please make sure to complete each lesson during the week that it is published and in the correct order.

Each lesson displays the required time for completion (clock icon) and the subject (bulb icon).
During each lesson, you will read a text, watch a video or listen to an audio recording.
Sometimes, you will be given material to LEARN
LEARN, and sometimes you will be given guided instructions
to PRACTICE
PRACTICE.

After you complete each lesson, you will be forwarded to an assignments list to be completed at home.
We call this “HOME
HOME PRACTICE
PRACTICE”.
Don't worry, you can reach those 'home practice assignments' from the HOME page as well.
We know how critical it is for you to improve your control of your daydreaming.
To ensure that you complete the program successfully, it is very important that you do the
assignments as required, even if they are sometimes hard and not much fun!

Great effort has been made to build this program, which is the product of recent research on maladaptive
daydreaming, mental health, and information provided by persons with MD.

You can check out the program’s user guide here.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the lessons or assignments.

Good luck,
The Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program Team
 What is maladaptive daydreaming?
Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is a time-consuming absorption in fantasy, that can create distress
and/or interfere with social, academic, vocational or other important areas of daily functioning.

In other words, daydreaming can be harmful!

In the next video, professor Eli Somer explains MD.

About Maladaptive Daydreaming

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (10 minutes)

The film you about to watch, "I am not here", was created by Jenavieve Verley and her crew
at The College of Motion Picture Arts, The Florida State University.

Maladaptive Daydreaming

Maladaptive Daydreaming
 To sum it up,

maladaptive daydreaming is different from normal daydreaming.

It is difficult to control, impairs optimal functioning in real life, and
creates psychological distress.

I struggle with MD every day.

I need help 'cause I'm dreaming my life away.

There is heavy price to be paid for Maladaptive daydreaming.

So, why is it so difficult to control

and limit your daydreaming?
 Maladaptive Daydreaming
is a (behavioral)
addiction

and like any other addiction (food, cigarettes, alcohol etc.)

it makes you suffer, it is hard to control, and it causes distress
if you don't satisfy your craving for it.

- The next video explains why -

Addiction
Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (1 min 39 secs)
 Maladaptive Daydreaming as Addiction

Trigger Behavior Reward

bored, stressed, daydreaming temporarily relaxed,

isolated, sad, in control, happy
depressed

This is a repetitive cycle.

As time passes, the number of "triggers" increases,
as does the frequency and higher intensity of the "behavior" (daydreaming).

This pattern turns normal daydreaming into maladaptive daydreaming.

Sometimes no trigger is required!

The behavior (daydreaming) itself is so enjoyable and relaxing (reward)
that you just want to do it more and more (as with any other addiction).

Maladaptive Daydreaming as Addiction

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (2 minutes)
 Well done!

This was a learning session about maladaptive daydreaming as addiction.

When you are ready, ​move to the second part of today's lesson –
your first mindfulness session - the three-minute breathing space
space.

Three-Minute Breathing Space

In the next video Professor Zindel Segal explains that the "three-minute breathing space" is an
easy-to-use technique which has a great effect on controlling and stopping an automatic action
(such as daydreaming).

This technique has three steps which look like an hourglass:

from being aware of an experience (wide)
to focusing on breathing (narrow)
and moving back to the whole body (wide).

Here are the three steps:

1. Become aware of the present moment.
2. Gather and focus your attention on the breath.
3. Expand your attention to the whole body and space.

Learn about Breathing Space

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (3 mins 27 secs)
 Practice the Three-Minute Breathing Space

After you learn about the three-minute breathing space, let's practice it.

(The audio file was created by the Center for Mindfulness Research and Practice, Bangor University).
​
Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire audio (3 mins 34 secs).
Follow the instructions.

Breathing space - 3 minutes

00:00 03:34

REMEMBER
 You have good reasons to start controlling your maladaptive daydreaming.
By doing so, you will improve your quality of life.
At times, during this program, you may feel like this is very difficult.
You may even think about quitting.
This is normal.
Recognize these mental obstacles and return to the program because you want to succeed.

REMEMBER 2
The research team is available to you as required.
You are welcome to contact us with any question or difficulty and we will try to help.
You can benefit from this program. Give yourself the chance!

Well done!

You have finished your first lesson. ​

In every lesson of this program,
you will learn and practice new techniques.

What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to practice every day

what you have learned. We have made a "home home practice
practice"
assignments list to help you with this.
Make sure you do these assignments as recommended.

Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

Keep up the good work!

You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

The "home practice" assignments for this week will appear after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE
 WEEK 1
Home Practice

This week there are two new assignments to practice. One on a daily basis and one on a one-time
basis.

Breathing Space
Once a day

Every day practice the "three-minute breathing space" as you did this week.

Click here to download / listen to the "three-minute breathing space" audio.

Daydreaming Time Report

TOMORROW (only once)

From the moment you wake up tomorrow, count the amount of time you spend
daydreaming during the day. At the end of the day, browse to this address
(www.daydreaming-treatment.com/monitoring) and report the amount of time you spent
daydreaming during the day. The require time format is HH(hours):MM(minutes). Then click
“Submit”, and wait for your confirmation that the system received your report.

* Please note that this task (daydreaming time report) is a one-time task that you only need
to do tomorrow. In the rest of the week, practice the "breathing Space" assignment.

That's it!

Good luck doing your home practice assignments.

Back HOME

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 2

This lesson will take 60 minutes

minutes.
Please begin the lesson only if you have the time required.
60
In today's lesson you will learn about mindfulness
mindfulness.
You will practice the body scan exercise.

Greetings.

From now on, each lesson in this program will begin with a short practice.
You are already familiar with the
"three-minute
three-minute breathing space
space" from last week's lesson.

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and practice the entire exercise on the recording.

Three-Minute Breathing Space - 3 min

00:00 03:34

In today's lesson you will learn about

mindfulness and a body scan technique.

Although most people experience brief daily episodes of mind

wandering and inattentiveness, many people with maladaptive
daydreaming report spending hours every day daydreaming.

We cannot shut the imaginative mind down, but we do want to

reduce the amount of time spent daydreaming, and to teach you
how to better control this mental activity.
 So, what is mindfulness
and why should you practice it?

The next video will answer these questions.

What is Mindfulness and Why Should I Practice It?

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (5 mins 52 secs).
Follow the instructions.
 In the introductory video you just watched, Dr. Shauna Shapiro explained what mindfulness
is and described her journey in learning how to be more anchored in the present moment.

She emphasizes that

"What
What you practice grows stronger
stronger".

Practicing mindfulness of the present will therefore grow stronger as you continue to
practice it during the coming weeks.

Today, you are going to learn and practice body scan

scan.

LET'S GO!

Let us emphasize
emphasize,
it is possible that during the exercises your attention may wander into daydreaming.
Don’t worry. This is predictable and normal.

Your job is to be aware when your attention wanders into daydreaming and then to bring your attention
back to the present moment, especially to your senses (touch, vision, hearing, etc.).

The more you practice this, the better your skill will be in controlling the focus of your attention.

We have made this program in the sincere belief that it will help you.
Please remember that although this is an online program, you are not alone.
Our team is here to help you. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
 The Body Scan: Awareness of the Body
Find a comfortable posture for this practice, either sitting or lying down.

Awareness of the sensations in the body are very important for overcoming spontaneous
daydreaming. The body sends many signals to our brain every second, but we are not used to or
trained to pay attention to them. Practicing the "body scan" teaches the brain to recognize these
sensations. Body sensations are always in the present moment and they will eventually help you to
create “anchors” in the present.

Remember: Being non-judgmental and lowering the critical voices are part of the mindfulness practice.

Scroll down to the next section and press "PLAY".

Practice Body Scanning

Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire recording (13 minutes).

Follow the instructions.

Body Scan - 13 minutes

00:00 13:49

Well done!

You have finished this week’s lesson.

Remember:
What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to repeat practice every day.

 Do "home
home practice
practice" assignments as recommended.

Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

Keep up the good work!

You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

The "home practice" assignments for this week will appear after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 2
Home Practice

This week there are two assignments to practice: one new and one from the previous lesson.

Body Scan
Once a day

Practice "body scanning" as you learned it during this lesson, once a day, every day this
week.

Click here to download / listen to the "body scan" audio.

Breathing Space
Once a day

Every day, continue to practice the "three-minute breathing space" as you did last week.

Click here to download / listen to the "three-minute breathing space" audio.

That's it!

Good luck doing your home practice assignments.

Back HOME

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 3

This lesson will take 60 minutes

minutes.
Please begin the lesson now only if you have the time required.
60

In today's lesson you will practice mindful eating and the body scan exercise.

Greetings.

We begin today's lesson with a short practice you are already familiar with –
"three-minute
three-minute breathing space
space" from last week's lesson.

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and practice the entire exercise on the recording.

Three-Minute Breathing Space - 3 min

00:00 03:34

Remember:
"What
What you practice grows stronger
stronger".

Practicing mindfulness of the present will therefore grow stronger as you continue to
practice it during the coming weeks.

Today, you are going to learn new technique - mindful eating of a raisin,
and practicing the body scan you familiar from last week.

LET'S GO!
 Let us emphasize
emphasize,
it is possible that during the exercises your attention may wander into daydreaming.
Don’t worry. This is predictable and normal.

Your job is to be aware when your attention wanders into daydreaming and then to bring your attention
back to the present moment, especially to your senses (touch, vision, hearing, etc.).

The more you practice this, the better your skill will be in controlling the focus of your attention.

We have made this program in the sincere belief that it will help you.
Please remember that although this is an online program, you are not alone.
Our team is here to help you. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Mindful Eating
The Raisin

In the following clip, Dave Potter leads a well-known mindfulness practice called "The Raisin".
In this practice, you will direct your attention to the present moment while looking at, exploring and
eating a raisin.
Note
Note: A raisin is only used as a tool to help you in your practice (you may replace it with a similar food).

The important skill learned in this practice is to pay attention to the external reality
and to be mindful of your body, of the way you eat, and how it feels.

Get yourself two raisins and a glass of water.​

When you are ready, scroll down to the next section and press “PLAY”.

Practice Mindful Eating

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (8 mins 44 secs).
​Follow the instructions.
 Well done!​

When you are ready, move to today's second practice – the "Body Scan",
which you are familiar with from the previous week’s lesson.

Scroll down to the next section and press "PLAY".

Practice Body Scanning

Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire recording (13 minutes).

Follow the instructions.

Body Scan - 13 minutes

00:00 13:49
 Well done!

You have finished this week’s lesson.

Remember:
What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to repeat practice every day.

Do "home
home practice
practice" assignments as recommended.

Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

Keep up the good work!

You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

​The "home practice" assignments for this week will appear after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 3
Home Practice

This week there are three assignments to practice: one new and two from the previous lessons.

Mindful Eating
At least three times this week

Pick (at least) THREE meals (each one on a different day) and eat those meals mindfully.
Practice mindful eating as you did with the raisin during today's lesson.

You may try practice mindful eating on your own, or if you wish, you may use this audio
before every meal you eat mindfully. Either way, while eating, do not listen to any audio and
try to be mindful to the process itself.

Try to be mindful to the way your food looks, smells and taste. To its flavors, to the feels in
your mouth and body while eating, digesting, etc. You may also be attentive to the way you
sit, breath, and to your feeling in your body while eating.

Body Scan
Once a day

Continue to practice "body scanning" as you learned it during last week lesson, once a day,
every day this week.

Click here to download / listen to the "body scan" audio.

Breathing Space
Once a day

Every day, continue to practice the "three-minute breathing space" as you did last week.

Click here to download / listen to the "three-minute breathing space" audio.

That's it!

Good luck doing your home practice assignments.

Back HOME
 WEEK 4

This lesson will take 65 minutes

minutes.
Please begin the lesson now only if you have the time required.
65

In today's lesson you will learn and practice how to train your attention
attention.

Greetings and welcome back.

We begin today's lesson with a short practice you are already familiar with –
the "three-minute
three-minute breathing space
space".

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and practice the entire exercise on the recording.

Three-Minute Breathing Space - 3 min

00:00 03:34

In the previous lesson you learned and practiced how to

be mindful of the present moment
moment. You practiced
mindful eating and, using the body scan technique, you
began to mindfully be aware of your body.

In today's lesson you are going to learn about

attention
and
working with the
daydreaming mind
mind.
 What do You Know about Attention?
This video will explain you all you need to know about attention.

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (4 mins 10 secs).

Attention

Attention is sometimes
automatic and can be Attention can be trained to Attention is a resource –
triggered by internal and better follow one’s will. you can use it to your
external stimuli. benefit.

As you continue with this program,

you will train your attention to focus on reality.
In other words, to be mindful of your body and its actions.
 You already started to train your attention during the body scan.
The spotlight of attention moved from one area of the body to another and you probably
noticed how this is not always easy as our attention quickly wanders into thoughts and
daydreams. This is why it takes practice. Each time you notice that the mind has
wandered is a moment of mindfulness. It is a moment of practicing attention.

We will show you how to train your mind to shift your

attention in order to have a happier, healthier life.

It is normal for your thoughts to wander and to daydream

when practicing mindfulness.

In the next video the meditation teacher Culadasa explains how to work with the wandering mind.

Mind Wandering in Meditation

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (9 mins).
 Mind Wandering in Meditation
In the video you just watched, meditation teacher Culadasa explained how to distinguish between
the meditation object and the kind of inattention you experience during daydreaming and mind
wandering. The meditation object is what you are trying to focus your attention on. For example,
body sensations are the meditation object of the body scan.

Mind wandering and the risk of drifting off into daydreaming

happens when you forget to pay attention to the object.

This will most definitely happen to you many times. Culadasa explained how to work with this.
One helpful technique is to know and name your thoughts, for example, "daydreaming" or
"planning", and then to return your attention to the body sensations and the present moment.

Breath-Sound-Body Meditation
(Audio by Mindful Awareness Research Center, UCLA)

Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire recording (12 mins).

Follow the instructions.

Breath-Sound-Body - 12 minutes
00:00 12:00
 Well done!

In the practice you just completed, you continued to develop your attention skills.
This time you moved your attention between the different senses,
rather than only focusing on the body.

You moved your attention from:

The external senses

(sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch)

to

The internal sensations

(as in the body scan)

Attention can also be either narrow or wide

wide.
For example, you can focus your attention on a small area (such as the palm of the hand) or
widen your attention to the whole body or to the entire sight field.​

Now practice the "body scan"

which you are familiar with from the previous week’s lesson.

Scroll down to the next section and press "PLAY".

Practice Body Scanning

Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire recording (13 mins).
Follow the instructions.

Body Scan - 13 minutes

00:00 13:49
 Well done!

You have finished this week’s lesson.

Remember:
What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to repeat practice every day.

Do "home
home practice
practice" assignments as recommended.

Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

Keep up the good work!

You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

The "home practice" assignments for this week will appear after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 4
Home Practice

This week there are three assignments to practice: one new and two from the previous lessons.

Body Scan / Breath-Sound-Body Meditation

Once a day (Do one of these exercises every day, alternating between the two)

Practice alternately and once a day the two long meditation exercises you have learned so
far during this program: practice the "body scan" one day (which you learned and practiced
today and in the previous week); and the next day, practice the “breath-sound-body”
meditation (which you learned and practiced this week). Repeat this rotation between the
“body scan” and the “breath-sound-body” meditation for the whole week.

Here are the audios for practicing: Breath-Sound-Body Meditation / Body-Scan.

Mindful Eating
At least three times this week

Pick (at least) THREE meals (each one on a different day) and eat those meals mindfully.
Practice mindful eating as you did last week.

You may try practice mindful eating on your own, or if you wish, you may use
this audio before every meal you eat mindfully. Either way, while eating, do not listen to any
audio and try to be mindful to the process itself.

Try to be mindful to the way your food looks, smells and taste. To its flavors, to the feels in
your mouth and body while eating, digesting, etc. You may also be attentive to the way you
sit, breath, and to your feeling in your body while eating.

Breathing Space
Once a day

Every day, continue to practice the "three-minute breathing space" as you did last week.

Click here to download / listen to the "three-minute breathing space" audio.

That's it!

Good luck doing your home practice assignments.

 WEEK 5

This lesson will take 50 minutes

minutes.
Please begin the lesson only if you have the time required.
50

In today's lesson you will learn and practice mindfulness in daily life
life.

Greetings.

Remember: What you practice grows stronger!

We start today's lesson with a short practice you are already familiar with –
the "three-minute
three-minute breathing space
space".

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and complete the entire practice on the recording.

Three-Minute Breathing Space - 3 min

00:00 03:34

Last week you learned about attention

and practicing the mindfulness technique.

In today's lesson you are going to learn

how to be more mindful in your daily activities
(and how to increase sensing things in your daily activities).
 Mindfulness in Daily Life
While the fastest way to build up a high level of mindfulness into your life is by developing a
meditation practice (such as the "three-minute breathing space" and the "body scan"), the ultimate
goal is to implement mindfulness into your day-to-day life – to enjoy longer and longer stretches of
clear, peaceful attention on the present moment. Luckily, every day is filled with opportunities to
bring your attention to the present moment – it’s just about making a conscious effort to do so.

By being more mindful of the present moment your daydreaming will reduce.

Here are suggestions of where to start. Once you have got the hang of mindfulness, you can
practice it at any moment of the day and you can see how it changes the quality of your experience.

Mindful waking up Mindful showering Mindful eating Mindful washing dishes

Mindful listening Mindful working out Mindful waiting Mindful cooking

(to natural sounds around you, (for the bus, a friend,
NOT to music) an appointment, etc.)

Mindful walking Mindful driving

Now, let's practice mindful walking.

Make yourself some space for the next ten minutes of practice.

When you are ready, scroll down and press “PLAY”.

 Walking Mindfully

Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire recording (10 min).

Follow the instructions.

Walking Mindfuly - 10 minutes

00:00 10:05

Well done!
You just completed a new practice of mindful walking.

Take a few seconds...

When you feel ready, scroll down and start the next practice,
the body scan, which you are already familiar with.
This is the last practice for today's lesson.

Practice Body Scanning

Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire recording (13 mins).
Follow the instructions.

Body Scan - 13 minutes

00:00 13:49
 Well done!

You have finished this week’s lesson.

Remember:
What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to repeat practice every day.

Do "home
home practice
practice" assignments as recommended.

Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

Keep up the good work!

You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

The "home practice" assignments for this week will appear after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 5
Home Practice

This week there are three assignments to practice: one new and two from the previous lessons.

Mindfulness in Daily Life

At least once a day

Practice mindfulness once a day, every day during this week. Make a list of what you plan
to practice every day. For example, day 1 & 6 – mindful eating; day 2 & 4 – mindful walking,
day 3 & 5 – mindful listening, etc.

Body Scan / Breath-Sound-Body Meditation

Once a day (Do one of these exercises every day, alternating between the two)

Practice alternately and once a day the two long meditation exercises you have learned so
far during this program: practice the "body scan" one day and the next day, practice the
“breath-sound-body” meditation. Repeat this rotation between the “body scan” and the
“breath-sound-body” meditation for the whole week.

Here are the audios for practicing: Breath-Sound-Body Meditation / Body-Scan.

Breathing Space
Once a day

Every day, continue to practice the "three-minute breathing space" as you did last week.

Click here to download / listen to the "three-minute breathing space" audio.

That's it!

Good luck doing your home practice assignments.

Back HOME

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

 WEEK 6

This lesson will take 50 minutes

minutes.
Please begin the lesson only if you have the time required.
50

In today's lesson you will learn to be present even when things are unpleasant
unpleasant.

Greetings and Welcome Back.

Remember: What you practice grows stronger!

We start today's lesson with a short practice you are already familiar with –
the "three-minute
three-minute breathing space
space".

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and complete the entire practice on the recording.

Three-Minute Breathing Space - 3 min

00:00 03:34

In today's lesson you will learn about "Avoidance

Avoidance”
and the “Turning
Turning Towards
Towards" approach.

It will help you better understand how not to use daydreaming to

escape from unpleasant thoughts and feelings.

You will also continue to practice mindful activities in your life.

Are you ready?

​LET'S GO!
 KNOW YOURSELF

Are you using daydreaming as an avoidance strategy?

It is very probable that you consciously or unconsciously use daydreaming to escape from or avoid
unpleasant aspects of reality.

This is natural.
Everybody wants to avoid the unpleasant and to increase the pleasant.
The problem is that daydreaming is not always a good strategy.
This is why you want to have better control of it.

When we have negative thoughts, memories or feelings, they usually come with unpleasant sensations.
Instead of avoiding them, could you be mindful of them?

Let’s take a simple example.

Someone was rude to you. When you go home and recall this incident, the sensation is unpleasant.
Hence, your automatic reaction may be to begin daydreaming in order to forget about it.

A mindful response would be to stay anchored in the present moment with everything that you have
learned so far: focus on the sounds around you, on the sensations in your body, on your breathing, or
on your immediate surroundings.

Today we add another aspect: pay attention to the unpleasant feeling itself.
Instead of avoiding, try to Turn Towards and get closer to the feeling.

You will begin by learning

and then you will go on to practice.

LET’S START

The Itch Metaphor

It is easy to begin with a small thing.
An itch is an unpleasant sensation and we automatically react to it. We usually want to scratch it.

But what happens if you consciously choose another approach?

If you use mindfulness to “turn towards” the itch,
 you could fully sense it with curiosity even when it is unpleasant.
If you observe the sensation of an itch long enough, after a few moments it will change on its own.
This is the power of “Turning
Turning Towards
Towards”.

Unpleasant Emotions in Meditation and in Daily Life

When you have experienced something unpleasant like stress, anger, shame or hurt,
take a few moments to follow these four points:
1. Anchor yourself in the present.
Be mindful of your body sensations, of your touch with the floor (or chair). Focus on your breathing,
the sounds or the sights around you. Do this for a minute or two.
2. Name the feeling.
Is it Anger? Hurt? Shame? Stress? Impatience? Confusion? Something else?
3. Get closer to it and explore it.
Instead of saying, “I am angry” and focusing on the causes, say, “There is anger in me right now”.
Then be curious about how this feels here and now. Where in your body do you feel it? In your
chest? In your belly? In your shoulders? In your heart area? And how does it feel? Is it hot? Cold?
Heavy? Tight? Trembling?
4. Be kind and open to the experience
experience.
Allow it to be. Soften towards it. You do not have to like it. But say to yourself, “I can be with it a bit
longer”. This is the reality right now.

Mindfulness is a skill that involves deliberately paying attention, turning

towards the experience here and now and with kindness to oneself.
It grows with practice, just like a muscle that needs to be strengthened
gradually.​

Now, make yourself some space for the next practice.

When you are ready, scroll down and press “PLAY”.

 Practice Turning Towards Difficult Emotions
Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (23 mins).
Follow the instructions.

Well done!

You have finished this week’s lesson.

Remember:
What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to repeat practice every day.

Do "home
home practice
practice" assignments as recommended.

Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

 Keep up the good work!
You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

The "home practice" assignments for this week will appear after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 6
Home Practice

This week there are three assignments to practice (all of them are from the previous lessons, but you are
asked to use the “Turning Towards” approach, if needed, as learned during this lesson).

Mindfulness in Daily Life

At least once a day

Practice mindfulness once a day, every day during this week. Make a list of what you plan
to practice every day. For example, day 1 & 6 – mindful eating; day 2 & 4 – mindful walking,
day 3 & 5 – mindful listening, etc. When you experience unpleasant memories or feelings,
use the “Turning
Turning Towards” approach
approach.

Breath-Sound-Body Meditation
Once a day

Practice sitting meditation with "breath-sound-body" once a day, every day over the next
week, as you originally learned and practiced in week 4. You may use the recording
provided in week 4 (here is the link) or try it without a recording.

Breathing Space
Once a day

Every day, continue to practice the "three-minute breathing space" as you did last week.

Click here to download / listen to the "three-minute breathing space" audio.

That's it!

Good luck doing your home practice assignments.

Back HOME

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

 WEEK 7

This lesson will take 40 minutes

minutes.
Please begin the lesson only if you have the time required.
40

In today's lesson you will learn and practice mindful movement

movement.

Welcome Back.

Remember: What you practice grows stronger!

We start today's lesson with a short practice you are already familiar with –
the "three-minute
three-minute breathing space
space".

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and complete the entire practice on the recording.

Three-Minute Breathing Space - 3 min

00:00 03:34

Today you are going to learn a new mindfulness practice called

"mindful movement".

You will begin by learning

and then you will go on to practice.

LET'S GO!
 Mindful Movement
Mindful movement is another way for you to be mindful of reality “here and now”, including
your body, feelings and thoughts. In the "body scan" technique you noticed the sensations in
the body while resting. Now you will pay attention to the body as it moves.

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and complete the practice.

Mindful Movement Practice

In the following video, Dr. Lynn Rossy from Healthy for Life will explain and guide you
through the practice of mindful yoga (which is a mindful movement practice).

​Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (20 mins).

Follow the instructions.
 Well done!
You just completed a new practice of mindful movement.

Take a few seconds...

When you feel ready, scroll down and start the next practice,
the breath-sound-body meditation, which you are already familiar with.
This is the last practice for today's lesson.

Breath-Sound-Body Meditation
(Audio by Mindful Awareness Research Center, UCLA)

Press "PLAY" and listen to the entire recording (12 mins).

Follow the instructions.

Breath-Sound-Body - 12 minutes
00:00 12:00

Well done!

You have finished this week’s lesson.

Remember:
What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to repeat practice every day.

Do "home
home practice
practice" assignments as recommended.
 Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

Keep up the good work!

You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

The "home practice" assignments for this week will appear after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 7
Home Practice

This week there are four assignments to practice: one new and three from the previous lessons.

Mindful Movement
Once a day

Practice mindful movement once a day, every day during this week, as you learned and
practiced during this lesson (here is the link).
If you feel that the 20-minute practice you did today was short, try one of those two longer
versions (link 1 / link 2).

Mindfulness in Daily Life

At least once a day

Practice mindfulness once a day, every day during this week. Make a list of what you plan
to practice every day. For example, day 1 & 6 – mindful eating; day 2 & 4 – mindful walking,
day 3 & 5 – mindful listening, etc. When you experience unpleasant memories or feelings,
use the “Turning Towards” approach.

Breath-Sound-Body Meditation
Once a day

Practice sitting meditation with "breath-sound-body" once a day, every day over the next
week, as you originally learned and practiced in week #4.
You may practice with the recording, as you did during this lesson (here is the link) or try it
without a recording.

Breathing Space
Once a day

Every day, continue to practice the "three-minute breathing space" as you did last week.

Click here to download / listen to the "three-minute breathing space" audio.

That's it!

Good luck doing your home practice assignments.

 WEEK 8

This lesson will take 75 minutes

minutes.
Please begin the lesson only if you have the time required.
75
Today's lesson organizes and summarizes the program, in order to help you
maintain control over your daydreaming habit.

Welcome Back.

Remember: What you practice grows stronger!

We start today's lesson with a short practice you are already familiar with –
the "three-minute
three-minute breathing space
space".

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, press “PLAY” and complete the entire practice on the recording.

Three-Minute Breathing Space - 3 min

00:00 03:34

This is the last week of this program.

Today you will review all the practice techniques.

Today's goal is to learn how to maintain the practice of

mindfulness in your daily life after this program ends.
 Let's review and remember all the material you have learned and
practiced during the eight weeks of this program.

Are you ready?

LET’S GO!

Here's a summary of the topics you learned in our program

(by weeks):

Week 1: Maladaptive daydreaming and the three-minute breathing space

space.

Week 2: Mindfulness
Mindfulness, the three-minute breathing space and body scan
scan.
Week 3: Mindful eating and practicing the body scan again.
Week 4: Attention
Attention, breath-sound-body meditation and the body scan
scan.

Week 5: Mindfulness in daily life

life, mindful walking and the body scan.

Week 6: Being present even when things are unpleasant

unpleasant: turning towards difficult emotions.
Week 7: Mindful movement (yoga practice).
Week 8: Program summary and how to maintain control over your daydreaming habits.

Let's review each of these topics briefly.

 1

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD)

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is Intense and time-consuming daydreaming that creates distress
and/or interferes with your daily functioning. People who suffer from MD usually feel the urge to
daydream and find it difficult to control their daydreaming.
This is because MD is a behavioral addiction
addiction: daydreaming is enjoyable and relaxing, so you want
more and more of it. This is a repetitive cycle of trigger [optional] -> daydream behavior -> reward.

Trigger Behavior Reward

bored, stressed, daydreaming temporarily relaxed,

isolated, sad, in control, happy
depressed

Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one's attention to experiences that occur in
the present moment. Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of your
thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and surrounding environment through a gentle, nurturing
lens. When you practice mindfulness, your thoughts tune into what you are sensing in the
present moment rather than daydreaming, rehashing the past or imagining the future.

We emphasize that "what

what you practice grows stronger
stronger",
which means that practicing mindfulness of the present will grow stronger as you continue to
practice it over the coming weeks.

During this program you practiced mindfulness in various ways and forms:
the three-minute breathing space
space, the body scan
scan, mindfulness of breathing, sounds and
body
body, mindful movement (yoga practice), mindful eating
eating, and mindful walking
walking.
Some of those meditation practices you did with recorded instructions.
 Along those formal mindfulness practices,
you also requested to practice mindfulness in your daily activities such as:
waking-up, showering, working-out, walking, listening and more (see week #5 below).

Practicing Mindfulness
We emphasize that "what
what you practice grows stronger
stronger",
which means that practicing mindfulness of the present will grow stronger as you continue to
practice it over the coming weeks.

During this week you practiced mindful eating and body scan
scan.

Attention
Attention is sometimes automatic and can be triggered by internal and external stimuli.
Research has shown that attention can be trained to better follow one’s will.
Therefore, attention is a resource you can use to your benefit
benefit.

You use a meditation object to train your attention to focus on reality, on your body, and on your
activities.
Mind wandering and drifting off into daydreaming happens when you forget to pay attention to the
object. One helpful technique is to know and name the thoughts
thoughts, for example, "daydreaming" or
"planning", and then return to the body sensations and the present moment.
 5

Mindfulness in Daily Life

The ultimate goal is to implement mindfulness in your day-to-day life – to enjoy longer and longer
stretches of clear, peaceful attention on the present moment. By being more mindful of the
present moment your daydreaming will lessen.

We gave you eight suggestions of how to practice mindfulness at any moment of the day:

Mindful waking up Mindful showering Mindful eating Mindful washing dishes

Mindful listening Mindful working out Mindful waiting Mindful cooking

(to natural sounds around you, (for the bus, a friend,
NOT to music) an appointment, etc.)

Mindful walking Mindful driving

6
 Avoidance and Turning Towards
It is very probable that you consciously or unconsciously use daydreaming to escape from or avoid
unpleasant aspects of reality. While everybody wants to avoid the unpleasant, daydreaming is not
always a good strategy for that. This is why you want to control it better.
You learned that when you have negative thoughts, memories or feelings, instead of avoiding them
you could be mindful of them, “turn towards” them and get closer to those feelings.

You learned about the Itch Metaphor. An itch is an unpleasant sensation and we automatically react
to it. Using mindfulness, you “turn towards” the itch, fully sense it with curiosity, even when it is
unpleasant. After a few moments, it will change on its own. This is the power of “Turning Towards”.

You were asked to practice the meditation of Turning Towards Difficult Emotions.

When you have experienced something unpleasant,

you should take a few moments to follow these four points:
1. Anchor yourself in the present (1-2 mins) by being mindful of body sensations and focusing
on breathing, sounds or sights.
2. Name the feeling
feeling.
3. Change the way you define the experience
experience. Instead of saying, “I am angry”, say, “There is
anger in me right now”, and check where you feel it in the body and how it feels.
4. Be kind and open to the experience
experience. Allow it to be.

Mindful Movement
Mindful movement is another way for you to be mindful of your body,
your feelings, and your thoughts.

During this program you practiced mindfulness in still meditation (the three-minute breathing
space and body scan), in movement and in daily activities (such as eating and walking).

To sum up, in the last eight weeks you acquired

HELPFUL TOOLS
which will help you to reduce and control your daydreaming.
 Three-Minute
Body Scan Mindful Mindful Movement
Breathing Space
Breath-Sound-Body

You also learn and practice to be mindful to emotional pain and to be mindfulness in your daily life.
Among other things you practiced:

Mindful Eating Mindful Walking

After reviewing all the lessons in this program,

you are going to practice mindful movement
movement,
which you are already familiar from Week 7.

In the following video, Dr. Lynn Rossy from Healthy for Life will explain and guide you
through the practice of mindful yoga (which is a mindful movement practice).

Make yourself comfortable.

When you are ready, scroll down and press “PLAY”

Mindful Movement Practice

Press "PLAY" and watch the entire video (20 mins).
 Follow the instructions.

Well done!

You have finished the last formal practice in this program. ​

In the next section, we will give you a general assignment to

complete in the months ahead in order for you to continue coping
with MD and controlling your daydreaming habits.

Remember:
What you practice grows stronger.

This is why it is so important to repeat and practice the tools in

this program every day.

When you feel unsure, repeat the basics of this program and learn
more if necessary.

Do not expect it to always be easy or fun, but do it anyway.

 One More Thing...

We need your feedback – termination and follow-up!

We want to remind you that our team will send you TWO questionnaires –
the first one in the next week, and the second in six months.

It is extremely important that you complete both questionnaires as this information is necessary
for our research, in promoting the scientific knowledge of MD, and improving this program.

And that’s about it!

You have reached the end of this week’s lesson.

The "home practice" assignments for the following weeks will appear
after you check the box and click "DONE".

I confirm that I completed all the tasks in this lesson, as they appeared.

DONE

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.
 WEEK 8
Home Practice

This week there is a one-time assignment to do tomorrow:

Daydreaming Time Report

TOMORROW (only once)

From the moment you wake up tomorrow, count the amount of time you spend
daydreaming during the day. At the end of the day, browse to this address
(www.daydreaming-treatment.com/monitoring) and report the amount of time you spent
daydreaming during the day. The required time format is HH(hours): MM(minutes). Then
click “Submit”, and wait for your confirmation that the system received your report.

* Please note that this task (daydreaming time report) is a one-time task that you only need
to do tomorrow.

AND

For the following ten weeks

weeks, we recommend those daily actions
actions:

Be Mindful in Your Daily Life

As much as you can / every day

Try to be mindful of your everyday activities. You may practice with everything you do:
eating, walking, running, driving, showering, washing the dishes, working out, listening,
waiting, etc.

Practice Long and Short Mindfulness Meditation

At least once a day

Incorporate some meditation practice into your everyday routine. It may be a short
practice (such as the three-minute breathing space), or a long practice (such as the body
scan, the breathing-sound-body meditation or mindful movement).
 Keep up the good work and make sure you complete these tasks every day!
If you feel that you need help, or have a question, please contact us.

This program will remain available to you for the next three months.

That's it!

Good luck doing the home practice assignments.

Back HOME

Online Maladaptive Daydreaming Treatment Program.

Version 1.02 (2018)

© All rights reserved to the ICMDR at the University of Haifa, Israel.