Classic novels described a mental disorder centuries ago
Long before psychologists defined maladaptive daydreaming, authors like Mary Shelley and F. Scott Fitzgerald were already documenting its specific, life-altering symptoms.
In the 1818 novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein often retreats into a private mental world so intense that it replaces his physical reality. This behavior is not just a literary device, it is a precise match for maladaptive daydreaming. A study of twenty classic works of fiction reveals that authors were documenting this compulsive, immersive fantasy state long before it had a formal scientific name.
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