Is daydreaming and spacing out the same thing?

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Where do you go when you daydream or space out?

Daydreaming is nice, spacing out is not always nice. Spacing out can happen during sensory overload as well, so it's not always pleasant. I don't daydream, but if I space out I imagine somewhere pleasant and exciting where I could be, or look forward to a pleasant event.

-edit- I always wondered if there was a difference and which one was I doing. I keep thinking about it I guess I do both at different times. I just usually do one or the other so much that they sort of blend together at times.

I think there is a difference. When I daydream, there is some kind of a story happening. It could be something really simple, but it involves a certain amount of mental activity. Mine often involve my favorite actor, who is a bit of a "special interest" for me, I suppose. I'll be washing my dishes or something, and I'll just imagine that he's standing in the doorway, so I talk to him a little bit, about things like making tea, or being given sets of ugly plates by well-meaning relatives. I know, pretty wild and crazy, eh?

Spacing out, to me, is when there are no thoughts, or they are vague and disconnected. There's no story while spacing out, just undefined images.

Yeah I would say they are different.

Like others have already said, daydreaming involves a story or interest.

Whereas when spaced out, I don't really think much.

To me daydreaming is mainly centered around imagination, which I unfortunately seem to lack, whereas spacing out is retreating into your mind and becoming quite unaware of your surroundings and of time passing. I think spacing out often results in fewer or less definable thoughts.
I definitely 'space out' more than I daydream. I'm not a very good daydreamer; I tend to analyse rather than dream.

They're not officially defined. That makes it difficult to say either way because whether they're different or not depends on exactly what you mean when you say them.

Here are my definitions, then.

Daydreaming is something I think everyone does. With me, daydreaming often revolves around my special interests... no, scratch that, it almost always revolves around my special interests. I can pull myself out of it whenever I want to, though I'll often do it when it's more interesting than what's going on around me. It's generally pleasant.

What I'd call "spacing out" or "zoning out" is more of a brain-fog sort of thing, like a milder version of shutdown but not quite the same, when I retreat from clear thought and interaction. It's very frustrating to be in this state because I know I'm not connecting and I know I'm not processing things well, but I can't get myself engaged no matter how hard I try--and I'm not even really capable of trying in the first place. It can stick around for a full day. The only thing that reliably hits the reset button on spacing out is a full night's sleep--though it can of course happen again the next day.

The expression on my face doesn't change much when I'm doing either of the two, but in my mind, the both are vastly different.

When I space out, my thoughts are random, they digress. I space out when I'm bored.

When I day dream, I fantasize. I manifest worlds and situations in my head. I day dream when something inspires me.

To daydream is to let your imagination roam. If it goes far enough, you are so engrossed with the imagination that you are ignoring real sensory data from what's going on around you....but it's the result of preoccupation with what you're thinking.

Zoning out is to basically go utterly blank. Lights are on, nobody's home. Why it happens is uncertain. I'm certain it can happen to NT and AS people. A good example would be someone that's so tired it's as if their brain goes to sleep...while their eyes are open. On some level they are aware of what is going on around them, but the brain is doing nothing to consciously process the data and respond to it.

When I was a kid... I can remember "zoning out" all the time. I have these vivid memories of feeling almost frozen with a fixed gaze on "whatever happened to be in front of me" and I could hear the sound of my mom calling my name.... it would start out muffled and distant and then it would get louder and louder and then I would "snap out of it" and realize that she was trying to get my attention.

As an adult, I often find that I am doing something very similar to what I was doing as a child. However, I am aware now that what I am "thinking" is a random assortment of fragmented and unrelated bits of information and pieces of random images... basically, nothing in particular and certainly nothing with any "meaning".

I used to daydream all the time as a child. As an adult I still engage in the occasional "session". I think daydreaming is really different from zoning out. I agree with those of you who feel that a daydream has a bit more of a plot or story line to it. There is a definate scenario and if someone were to ask what I was thinking.... I would be able to tell them.

I zone out usually after daydreaming. I start of with a daydream, but then I forget where I am and I'm just completely lost in my head and that "daydream" just becomes aload random images, almost like having a sleep dream while awake. It also happens when I'm tired, like even though my eyes are still open my mind is just disappearing and I start seeing those weird pictures again.

For me, no, not even close. I "daydream" a lot, but never, ever "space out." Daydreaming for me is still thought, though I don't really direct it. I don't ever recall having nothing going on in my head.

My dad says he has the same inability to go to a "nothing place." The more he and I talk about ASD, the more he's becoming sold on the idea that he's maybe an Aspie.

Sometimes my husband will be just staring at the wall, looking totally blank. When I ask if he's okay, he says he's just zoning out, with absolutely nothing in his head.

I'm envious of this, frankly, as it's beyond tiring to always be thinking.

When I daydream, I go into "my own little world" and mentally play out scenarios which are pleasing to me. Most often they revolve around imaginary scenarios based on my special interests, but they can also revolve around things that I wish would happen to me for real. I picture these things in my head, and at times the images I experience are so vivid that I can't "see" anything going on in the real world. I can choose when to come in and out of daydreaming, though both require "adjusting" and "readjusting" my brain; sort of like warming up and cooling down your muscles before and after exercise.

When I space out, I shut everything out as in daydreaming, but with none of the pleasant sounds or imagery from within my mind. Also unlike daydreaming, I can't choose when to space out; it feels like it happens spontaneously. It's like my brain short-circuits or something.