I can't remember for the life of me where I read it, but I can describe it.

While I was doing research for maladaptive daydreaming, I came across two other terms: immersive daydreaming, and the theory of internal family structures (which I'm aware has a split opinion - I am not for or against it, just trying to figure out what goes on in my head).

So for the details: in the past year, I've been working on developing an inner child. They take the form of a red panda, and their presence in my head is most obvious when I'm in a self-critical mood, or any negative mood. I try to speak to it, but I always end up sounding backhanded, and not helping.

However, I have a completely different family in my head. These aren't OCs for a book or drawing or anything. In fact, I've never disclosed it to anyone. It's an entire family that adapts and kind of changes based on media I consume. None of them are perfect (which cancels out the idea of maladaptive daydreaming, where the daydreams are often of a perfect world), and most of them have some trauma - most that I've never experienced (such as SA, alcoholism, trauma from being bounced foster home to foster home). Sometimes I lean into this internal family from the "matriarch's" perspective in order to rationalize a situation (for example, the matriarch explaining to their adopted granddaughter the process of getting a car and how to be careful - inspired by my research into getting a car). It's like one never-ending show in my head, and different people will pop up at different times depending on the real life situation (such as the matriarch appearing in my head while I'm at work, emulating my managerial side while I'm there).

I'm not sure if anyone else has ever experienced anything like it. I know the inner child is a concept, but what about the other, seemingly unrelated side? It's not maladaptive, I think it's deeper than "immersive", and I don't believe it follows the IFS theory at all.