Schizo

When I was in Junior High (I'm not sure of the grade, maybe 6th or 7th), I created a world. This world was one of my own choosing. I used to lie in bed and pretend I was in this world and I would "live" there until I went to sleep. It was my way of coping with the problems in my life: I would escape to my world and be happy. My world changed as I grew older and met new people and did new things, but I always went back there every night. In fact, I started spending more and more time there. During high school, I was asleep or in my made up world almost as much as I was in the real world. Looking back, I wonder if that is how schizophrenia develops? Perhaps it starts as a harmless escape that eventually consumes the escapee? For me, it became too depressing to leave my world, so I just stopped going. I assume if I went back it would be covered in cobwebs; but what if someone made a different choice? What if it became too depressing to leave their world, so they didn't leave? Does anyone else have experience with this? I'd love to hear your stories.