Are Imaginary Friends Dangerous?

Post Reply New Topic

When I started college and started this volunteer job with someone who worked in the Psychology dept of my school, I was working with this work-study student who was mean to me. No matter what I did, it was wrong, and I couldn't do anything right. It was around that time that my imaginary friend Claire showed up. Claire was patterned directly after Lauren Ambrose's character in the show Six Feet Under, and had the temper and volatile personality to match. Claire took it upon herself to look after me and make sure no one was mean to me, since I was basically all alone, for all intents and purposes. Whenever the guy I worked with was mean to me, Claire would whisper in my ears all kinds of things I could do to punish him, which I of course wanted to act on but never really did. Every time I didn't, she would berate me for not standing up for myself and say that she didn't know why she was even wasting her time being my protector if I wasn't even going to take her advice.

The next semester, I quit the job and I didn't see much of Claire after that. Which was okay, since she wasn't as nice as my other imaginary friends are. Holloway (another of my imaginary friends) didn't like Claire at all, and has told me that if she moves back, he's not going to be happy.

There are things in Tibetan culture called Tulpa would anyone agree that this is the same as an imaginary friend or not? People seem to think these creations are bad spirited... but looking at imaginary friends and kids it seems to be exactly the same thing.
any thoughts about that

I have schizophrenia, so I guess this isn't the same thing. I have two good hallucinations/imaginary friends called Amy and Winifred Stuart Baxter that help me out when I'm in pain or struggling to cope. My psych said I my brain created these characters as a coping strategy, so I guess it is similar to your situation (except I actually see my imaginary friends).

This is something I have never admitted before, more and more I can relate to others on this forum, more than ever before.

My whole life I have a had set of made up characters, they interact with each other, I am never part of their world, they are never directly part of mine. I couldn't and wouldn't want to imagine a life without them.

Can you call these friends, I'm not sure, but I have certainly explored emotions and issues and special interests of my own life by allowing these characters to experience my emotions and issues and special interests in their imaginary lives. Normally when I become obbsesed with a subject it is because I have given one of them a story line linked to the subject.

I don't think any of this is dangerous so long as you are in control and this friend is not in control of you, otherwise this could be indicative of some else.

It depends on the situation. And that is at ANY age.

Imaginary friends are a sign of creativity and can be a healthy coping mechanism at any age, especially if you have been abused or have lost a friend. In few cases, they could turn out to be angels sent by God or manifestations of his Holy Spirit. They can be scapegoats for bad things that were done to you, like Christ is the scapegoat for remorseful sinners.

But one should never use imaginary friends to escape consequences or get away with a crime.

Also be careful if you see them with your physical eyes or start "hearing voices" or have paranormal experiences. In situations like these, they just might be evil spirits and must be cast out of your home, with the help of a deliverance minister.

Adults who have imaginary friends should NEVER be treated like garbage. Treat us with respect. We are human too, even if we have imaginary friends at an advanced age.

I never really had imaginary friends, but rather, I have recurring emotional episodes where my tether from earth is cut for a few minutes and I wander off into my head. Basically, billions of dreams and memories flood me and I can't help but immerse myself in them.

I don't think it's dangerous because you know she's not real and is imaginary. She's a comfort thought for you. Imagining she's there or wishing she's there or even pretending she's there sometimes is probably all ok as long as you are always completely aware that she's just a made up figment in your mind.

I have something similar, and if you enjoy imagining her, you might want to try this. After I quit writing for the paper I decided to try my hand at a book. I thought up my characters and my story line and started. Thats when I found out I hated writing fiction so I quit and tossed it. However, I had some really cool, very detailed characters. I had one central protagonist who I gave lots of quirks and personality traits to that I would enjoy in a another person. He had to be likable if the story I had envisioned was going to work. At first I thought it was a shame I didn't like it and if I ever tried again I would use him in a book or even a short story. I started thinking up story lines at night while falling asleep, which was always when I thought about my writing. Every night I'd add more to it and eventually it just turned into visualizing this guys story in my head and I'd make up more as he went along. It's pretty fun and I still do it from time to time. Depending on what I'm in the mood for I'll cast him in different roles and genres and it's interesting.

I don''t pretend that he's here or that he''s real but I have caught myself thinking how would he get out of some bad or hopeless situation that I'm stuck in at the moment. I'll lay down to go to sleep and just imagine him in some situation like I'm stuck in and let my mind just create the story and sometimes it shows me what I should do when i think up a resolution storyline out of the blue.

It's kind of fun. Way more fun than I had with my actual imaginary friend when I was a kid. Give it a try if you want.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com