Imaginary friends: What do you think?

[stand_up]

What are your thoughts about having imaginary friends? If you do have them,.. what do your imaginary friends do for you? Is it ok to have them? Can they play a negative or positive part in life?

 

[PennyLane]

I don't know...but I would have thought that its not that healthy to have imaginary friends after a certain age, especially with SA. It might mean you try to interact less with real people and it definitely won't improve your social skills.

I think this is a route best avoided....at least online friends are real people with real reactions.

 

[mitchellb999]

What are your thoughts about having imaginary friends? If you do have them,.. what do your imaginary friends do for you? Is it ok to have them? Can they play a negative or positive part in life?

I don't see the difference between an imaginary friend and religion.

 

[Anxiety_ridden_Firefox]

I read something about this a few days ago. News: God, Mary-Sues and Invisible Friends, Oh My!
I don't have imaginary friends. XD But I think it's okay as long as they play a positive part in your life, and that you don't talk to them all day. X3

 

[Lorraine Manca]

As a kid, I didnt have an imaginary friend, but i had an imaginary father I would talk to. It attracted too much attention from the elementary teachers though. Evidently your not supposed to speak to dead people. He steadily faded in my imagination as i aged. I think thats amazing if you can sustain that kind of imagination as an adult.

 

[Imhotep]

I had an imaginary girlfriend until the bitch left me :: .

 

[zlench]

Um Imaginary friends I think get real.

 

[Flowers-Of-Bloom]

News: God, Mary-Sues and Invisible Friends, Oh My!

^ I thought so too.

I don't see the difference between an imaginary friend and religion.

Religion is a system of faith/belief and worship. People with imaginary friends are generally aware that their "friends" do not exist.
They're completely different, actually. So different, that I could not simply lump one with the other.

What are your thoughts about having imaginary friends? If you do have them,.. what do your imaginary friends do for you? Is it ok to have them? Can they play a negative or positive part in life?

I have had an overactive imagination since I was young, and it has to some degree, separated me from what is going on around me. For me, it could very well have contributed to SA/AvPD, derealisation, paranoia and altered states of consciousness/perception.
But seeing things within an ordinary light would be so monotonous, I think. Here, the normative is undesired. There are many things I can do with my mind that others cannot, or simply have not explored.
I have several (real) friends who speak to "imaginary friends" as a result of boredom and over-creativity. These friends of my friends can be a form of escapism. Is there benefit in that? They, like myself, are not clinically insane, just interesting.

I am an aspiring author, which gives me reason enough to create, learn, understand everything there is within a separate reality. People may find that many of the "artsy" types are just that tad eccentric, which seems to be a running theme that I have found within the artistic community.

 

[blue-roses]

I hate to admit it, but I have really, elaborately-thought-out imaginary friends! They just pop into my head when I'm bored and alone, and I can't make myself stop thinking about them. In a way they're good, because I feel like I'm exercising the positive parts of my personality that don't get an airing in real life because of the SA, but on the other hand....I feel like a complete f***ing nutter. I had lots of imaginary friends as a kid, too, because I had no interaction with people my age until I was about four, and by that stage I was already socially awkward and had few friends, so I held onto the imaginary ones. I really wish I could get rid of them though, because I'm certain it's not healthy...

 

[sabbath]

imaginary lovers - atlanta rhythm section

 

[limetree]

'm always having conversations in my head, although my imaginary friends are based on real people. I feel kind of guilty though for manipulating them like that... but those are the only conversations where I make myself do most of the talking, I don't want to be too presumptuous about what they would actually say, I just imagine that I'm comfortable talking to someone who is in my presence and of course that rarely works out in real life.

As a kid I used to role play with dolls, teddies and personify my pillows. The pillow thing is somewhat symbolic to my identification with clouds and being a dreamer even though I didn't consider it at the time. It's natural to need cushions to fall back on when life gets too lonely and stressful, whether the type of insomniac escapism I needed was deep sleep, a nightmarish learning curve, an intense dream that was too good to be true or a lucid insight into what was really going on. My pillow cradled it all, those days when I didn't feel like getting out of bed.

In the seventh grade I dated Yoda, the force between us was electric! But by the tenth grade realised I could have a thing for bad boys and took precious gollum to my formal, promise ring and all.

 

[Harleyq]

I still have an imaginary life that I lead in my head, complete with a few "close friends". I don't ever carry that out into my real life and talk to them or anything, but as a coping mechanism when I'm upset, I tend to retreat to my fantasy life where my supportive friends are on my side and telling me things will be ok or defending me.

WOW, that sounds so pathetic lol. I'd never admit that to anybody except you guys and girls.

Oh yeah, and I don't know if it's unhealthy or not. I mean, I guess as long as you're realistic and acknowledge that what's in your head is ONLY in your head, then it's ok. Most people fantasize throughout the day to relieve stress so it seems like a natural thing to do. I guess it depends on the person and what they're fantasizing about.

 

[PennyLane]

Does anyone else talk to themselves???

 

[divethruhaze]

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[Bar-AKA-Redzer]

I think if you have them then u need help big time, its not healthy at all. I'd be very worried if any kids i had started to have them.

 

[Emily_G]

I don't see the difference between an imaginary friend and religion.

Eh it's different. Jesus give me hope, imaginary friends (if I had any) probably wouldn't.

 

[stand_up]

I have one imaginary friend, he always sits in the back seat of my car or walking behind me. He encourages me to explode when pushed or harassed.

"Here's your chance to unleash hell."
"Go on, you can do it"

 

[Be Free]

I think that what you are describing is something called Maladaptive Daydreaming. It's when you have obsessive daydreaming. Take a look at this website:

Are You Daydreaming Your Life Away? - Home

The title of this website is: Are You Daydreaming Your Life Away? If the person on that website sounds like you, that may be your problem. People who have it will also sometimes compare it to an addiction, and say that they can’t stop.

BTW, there is a group on Yahoo about this:

maladaptivedaydreamers : Maladaptive Daydreamers forum

Best of luck and hope this helps.

 

[Daz]

I wish i had an imaginary friend or two..

 

[Insomnia12]

Imaginary friends would be badass, but is probably a negative thing, because your not facing reality . I dont really have imaginary friends...but i make fake friends out of people i know in real life. Like I'll run a 'fantasy' conversation with cooler people that I never talk to, in my head. I basically just imagine what a perfect scenario would be, if I did not have SA.

Sometimes it ****s me up though, because I'll act as if that 'conversation' actually did happen, and the person will be weirded out.