People with Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD)—compulsive, immersive daydreaming that disrupts daily life—report higher levels of dissociation and altered body awareness compared to those without MD. In a survey of 137 Italian-speaking adults, those with MD scored higher on dissociation, especially absorption and depersonalization, and lower on three aspects of interoception: attention regulation, body listening, and trusting bodily sensations. Network analyses placed maladaptive daydreaming as a central link between dissociation and interoception. The findings suggest that MD may involve using daydreaming to escape uncomfortable bodily states, and that improving interoception through interventions like mindfulness could help address MD and its dissociative features.
People who find music more rewarding also tend to experience deeper states of absorption—complete immersion that can involve losing track of time or self-consciousness. In two samples totaling 920 participants, scores on the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire and the Absorption in Music Scale were strongly correlated (r = 0.78). Four absorption-related items were added to create an extended version of the reward questionnaire. Statistical analyses confirmed the extended measure's reliability, suggesting that including an absorption facet improves the characterization of individual differences in music-related reward and pleasure.