fantasy and imagination trigger all great ideas but do not be so carried away as to cross over into neverland says seema sinhadaydreaming and fantasising is young director ayan mukherjis wake up sid fulltime occupation currently that is all i do these days thinking reading imagining reflecting about life is an essential part of me and what i imagine has changed over the yearsfantasy also paved a way for sixyearold dheerajname changed to become a musician dheeraj would often play drums with steel bowls his mother spotted his talent and enrolled him in the trinity school of music he cleared eight levels in three years and released his own cassette at the age of 10 fantasising is healthy as long as one accepts reality and copes well with stress you may switch off during lectures or dream of what your mother must be cooking for lunch but if you are constantly spaced out then you need to do a reality check says henal shah psychiatrist nair hospital mumbai imagining getting a medal or being with ones object of affection can give a lot of pleasure and if one returns to reality soon its finewellknown photographer avinash gowariker uses his fantasy as a tool for motivation he says i visualise and imagine a lot some of my dreams could be real and some unreal my dream of steven spielberg giving me work is not unrealistic but if i stop work and only fantasise about that then that is unhealthy i need to work towards my goal however fantasy can have a darker side anything we do should be monitored through the lens of moderation says mukherji fantasy is beautiful it is a part of you it can be real but fantasising about say pornography for 24 hours is abnormal modernday depression is a product of daydreaming say experts but too much fantasising interferes with reality when amit rana name changed a middleaged married man started spending his entire time fantasising about an unknown entity a young girl whose photograph he had seen in a magazine hampering his daytoday life his wife knew that he needed help behind closed doors or at times a door left ajar amit would be seen sitting at the edge of the bed with his head cast down just thinking and dreaming he felt that the girl was physically present he was scared to confront his problem he was treated for this psychological disorder which was still at a preliminary stage he had not become psychotic yet says his counselloraccording to the experts a blockage of any needs of achievement approval and acceptance can lead to emotional disturbances in peoples lives causing stunted progress dreaming and fantasising become a survival defence mechanism for emotionally weak people they find life very comfortable and convenient in the fantasy world since it is just them out there they are controlling their life but it hits them hard when they come back to reality which can be