The Art of Daydreaming, during a Pandemic.

We are currently living through unprecedented times. The pandemic has restricted many of us from the activities, experiences, and people, we loved. Suddenly, we find ourselves idle, restricted primarily to our homes, and from engaging in activities we previously enjoyed. The feeling of loss, in tandem with a restriction of movement, leads many of us to daydream.

Traditionally, daydreaming has held a negative connotation. Typically regarded as “maladaptive”, when engaged in excessively (Somer, 2002). Yet, during a pandemic, daydreaming and fantasy may be beneficial.

The art of daydreaming means that we fantasize about another world, including past experiences and future plans. Daydreaming is our mind’s way of coping, imagining the activities we enjoyed, yet no longer engage in. Daydreaming is our subconscious way of tapping into our unmet needs and wants.

Daydreaming fulfills our desires, particularly when our present environment is not satisfying them (Freud, 1908). Daydreaming may also promote creative problem solving (Zedelius & Schooler, 2016). Rather than googling how to fix a problem, daydreaming allows our minds to wander, and may lead to clearer solutions.

Daydreaming may help us focus on the future, maintaining our sense of hope and optimism. While many of us are couped up, lacking variation in our schedules, daydreaming may promote our focus on future goals (Klinger, 2013). Otherwise, we become mentally futile, attached to our electronic devices. Lest we forget to let our minds wander, fantasize, remember, and create.

There are many experiences we currently miss. During a pandemic, we are restricted from traveling, and may miss taking a spontaneous weekend trip to the mountains, or boarding a flight to a tropical island. We may also miss visiting with friends, family, and the multitude of traditions we took for granted (e.g., weekday happy hours, early morning gym workouts, evening laps at the pool, matinees at the movie theatre, musical concerts, and Saturday night dinner parties).

We are right in restricting our behaviors for the health and safety of others. It is both our moral and civic duty to do so. Otherwise, we will never resume such activities safely and freely.

Thus, we daydream and fantasize about those experiences to keep them alive. We daydream to fulfill our needs and desires which may not be met. Daydreaming brings back our feeling of getting dressed up for an evening out, the excitement of packing a suitcase before boarding a flight, the freshness after an early gym session, the anticipation of a concert. We also daydream to remember our goals, and to stay optimistic. We daydream to problem solve, and to make sense of the current world in which we live.

So, the next time you reach for your phone to google an answer to a problem, or find yourself scrolling social media to fill a void that was once satisfied by seeing friends, allow yourself to daydream. You may find enjoyment within your own mind, where the feelings and memories existed, all along.

Authorship: Sophie Aiyer