Current sectionArt & CultureShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribe"Nightmare," Ditlev Blunck, 1846. "Imagination that has become a coping mechanism that is too costly." Credit: Nivaagaards MalerisamlingMaladaptive daydreaming is a condition in which people spend large amounts of time immersed in compulsive fantasizing at the expense of real life. A senior Israeli clinical psychologist elaborates on the phenomenon and its implications12:57 AM • June 23 2026 IDTAbout 25 years ago, Prof. Eli Somer encountered a phenomenon that did not yet have a name. A young man came to his clinic in Haifa, describing long hours spent immersed in imaginary worlds. In the News'Israeli Artists Who Don't Speak About the Genocide Are Collaborating With It'NYC Mulling Apology for Deporting Lesbian Jewish Woman Who Died in AuschwitzYaacov Agam, Israeli Artist Who Pioneered Kinetic Art Worldwide, Dies at 98Roger Waters to Haaretz: 'My Songs Are About Truth, Love. Israel's the Opposite'Meet Al Shami, the Syrian Singer Giving Voice to Arab Gen ZRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIsrael Is Conducting a Systematic Campaign of Ethnic Cleansing in the West BankWhere Does Andy Burnham Stand on Israel and Palestine?Netanyahu's Mouthpieces Turn on Trump, Revealing a Deeper Israeli IngratitudeIsrael Is Bleeding Support in U.S. and Pouring Tens of Millions to Change ThatReport: Netanyahu 'Likely' to Sabotage Iran Deal, U.S. Officials Tell TrumpTrump's Iran Deal Castrates Netanyahu, but It's Still Catastrophic for Israel