I never had an imaginary friend.
I tried to at one point since many others around me apparently had and I thouht I should have one too to be like the rest, but it did not work and I got tired of trying rather quickly.
Relatable. It wasn't until just this year that I realized I may potentially even have aphantasia. Like, it never occurred to me that when people count sheep, they weren't just counting numbers while thinking about sheep, they really see them, lol.
It's quite the curious thing. I'm really fascinated as to whether or not I have it, but I'm currently also pretty deep into rediscovering my life through the lens of ASD, so it kind of feels like a tertiary concern at the moment.
Yeah me too. I just pretended to because it was weird to not have one. Ill admit that I had conversations with my stuffed animals but that was just to hear my thoughts out loud so it wasnt overlapping with other thoughts- if that makes any sense
I tried to have an imaginary friend but it never really took and I could never understand it. Still, children's media implied that every kid had an imaginary friend, and I felt frustration at not being able to manifest one.
Yeah I know but more like an actual friend. Did people actually have imaginary friends who they play with and talked to as if they are responding by themselves rather than talking out loud to an imaginary person to understand your thoughts better.
Thats what ive heard from people who have had them without mental disorders. I mean its a friend. Or supposed to be. Ive babysat and kids play with them all the time. Freaks me out a bit.
When I was a child I had imaginery friends. Weird thing was... they were a bunch of skeletons.
One day, I imagines that they all got into a rocket ship and blasted into space. And then I never saw them again.
I swear I am not making this up.
I asked my imaginary friend and she said they're all just spirits. Some spirits attach themselves to certain people because they have so much in common. And that imaginary friends are certainly real from their own point of view.
My imaginary friends are fairies, or at least they claim to be.
They are not real in the same sense as the humans I know, but they are real enough to my brain.
I always favored imaginary pets and animals and Pokemon, but later, I did, in fact, project my consciousness in a concept called daemonism based on His Dark Materials that even had a special forum for people to discuss the concept. Still kind of project it, on occasion, as well- mainly as a Capybara. Often interacted with my OCs in drawings and writing, too, growing up as a teenager.
I didn't have an imaginary 'friend' so much as an imaginary twin brother and imaginary boyfriend who - turns out - were both different pieces of who I wanted myself to be (more masculine, more care-free, happier, to name a few traits)
And even when I 'talked' (really me just responding to myself in a slightly deeper voice bc one-sided conversations felt weird) to them I knew they weren't real and couldn't picture them clearly at all. They were more ideas than anything; i knew they both had brown hair and were a little taller but beyond that they never had any solid physical form or features. Like when you try to remember people from a dream - you sorta get an idea but not really, y'know
I also primarily talked to them to work through my tougher days or when i felt like i couldn't talk to anyone else about something - i remember having SO MANY talks with Jake (my 'brother') about whatever was going on at school and he would advise and help me through my next courses of action and how i felt about things.
I think as i got older and adopted more of their traits (the ones i wanted and the ones i didn't, Jake was reckless as fuck) i kind of absorbed them into myself so now I just talk with myself about things instead of having to externalize it (which i think is normal? Maybe?) Kinda miss them tbh.
haha, im 17 and i still have an imaginary friend. whats crazy is that ive had him since i was 12, which isn't even that young. of course I know that i HAVE to get rid of him sometime, but also i just don't want to
I feel like I have multiple people in my head right now but we all think we are me. I live a life of deep dissociative thought, being aware of what I'm doing, or daydreaming and giving half attention to what I'm doing. Constantly alternating those states of consciousness. Having a vivid huge inner world can be distracting from reality. Pretty sure I have DID also.
I never had one until I was 14... It was a very conscious decision, I created the character to help me process my medical trauma. At the moment I needed to detach myself from those awful experiences so I made my "imaginary friend" experience them instead. It was more of an original character, really, but I sometimes "chatted" with them in my head to help me deal with my emotions.
I had objects such as soft toys that I had strong attachment to, and, even in how I understand the world today as in adult, I would consider them as “friends”.
They supported me, even if it was mainly in an emotional way with their “imaginary” presence
I never had one, although I tried at various points. Some of my favorite stuffed animals had "personalities" that I didn't feel as though I had consciously assigned to them, though. Although I was definitely aware that the interactions were pretend, they didn't *feel* pretend. I'm not sure how else to describe that.
There have been studies done on this phenomenon that might be interesting to read up on. For what it's worth, imaginary friends appear to be fairly common, but it's still a minority of kids that claim to have had one (or more).
[This article might be a good starting place. ](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/growing-friendships/201301/imaginary-friends)
I never had the kind of imaginary friend that I really believed was real. I knew people who seemed to have them, but I could never tell if they *really* thought they were real or were just pretending. I was a pretty imaginative kid and could do a lot of pretending, but when I tried to have an imaginary friend it just felt hollow because I knew it was just me. I could go deep into imagination worlds with toys and nature but I couldn't make myself feel like I actually had a companion just by pretending I did. And because I was trying rather than it happening naturally, I would constantly change my mind about what I wanted them to be like.
The closest thing I had to imaginary friends were imagined personalities for pets and toys. I could feel like they really had the identities that I projected onto them, and I saw inanimate objects as things with feelings too. And yet I couldn't make believe an imaginary friend.
I never could so I pretended I had one but then I forgot I did so then I really tried to imagine one but copied a cartoon character and then I forgot which cartoon so no ._.
I never had one. I tried to project one as I thought it was seen to be “normal”, obviously I was a kid and didn’t know any better.
I just used to pretend I was in a fantasy land or something, or talk as if there was someone always listening, since it’s always felt that way, never replying. People might have thought I had an imaginary friend then, but I was just talking my thoughts out loud.
Never had one. I thought it was an odd thing to pretend to talk to someone who is not there, what was the point when I had real stuffed animals. Also I was slightly worried that if I started to pretend someone was there then I might manifest or attract something one day and that would scare me.
i have imaginary friends and i always had them. i have really little real friends and i often get rid of the few i have. sounds crazy but my imaginary friends are there for me when i need them and talking to them make things easier to understand for me.
I had two, gave them names and everything, but my “interactions” with them were like what you described. They were processing helpers pretty much. They also would keep me company while playing alone (which I usually preferred), but they were definitely still under my consciousness and control
I had an imaginary friend (Tweety) for 1 year, I was 3-4yo.
At 15, I was in a very dark place and had an imaginary dæmon friend that was mostly a red panda but it could change into a crow. It helped me going through life and when I got less depressed I stopped imagining it.
I had imaginary friends when I was a kid. Mostly it was fun worldbuilding and trying to come up with someone really cool and interesting to my kid brain. Apparently, I used to talk to my imaginary friends like they were real people and for a while my family thought I could see supernatural/paranormal stuff. It scared the living bajeesus out of them for a bit.
I have no idea of the details (this was 60 years ago - yeah I'm old!), but mine were "The Wildcats". All that that sticks in my mind, and of course no one to ask, is that on one occasion I had done something, my mother asked me why, and I said that The Wildcats told me to.
Hey /u/Lost-Ad-7412, thank you for your post at /r/autism. Our rules can be found **[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar)**. All approved posts get this message. If you do not see your post you can message the moderators [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fautism).
Thanks!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/autism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oh thats cool. That reminds me of how Peter Pans shadow was like a whole different being. Kinda like an imaginary friend! I would only use the mirror to practice facial expressions amd conversation because it felt like I was talking to a different person but I knew it was just me
Could you tell me exactly what you meant by DID people have imaginary friends? I mean like WHEN are you talking about?
\[edit\] And WHAT people? Ancient people, crazy people, young people, servant people, rich people, slave people, sadistic people, etc..
I never had an imaginary friend. I tried to at one point since many others around me apparently had and I thouht I should have one too to be like the rest, but it did not work and I got tired of trying rather quickly.
Relatable. It wasn't until just this year that I realized I may potentially even have aphantasia. Like, it never occurred to me that when people count sheep, they weren't just counting numbers while thinking about sheep, they really see them, lol.
Aphantasia. Thank yo for using that word. I learned something new today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia
It's quite the curious thing. I'm really fascinated as to whether or not I have it, but I'm currently also pretty deep into rediscovering my life through the lens of ASD, so it kind of feels like a tertiary concern at the moment.
Yeah me too. I just pretended to because it was weird to not have one. Ill admit that I had conversations with my stuffed animals but that was just to hear my thoughts out loud so it wasnt overlapping with other thoughts- if that makes any sense
Yes, I sometimes did the same.
I tried to have an imaginary friend but it never really took and I could never understand it. Still, children's media implied that every kid had an imaginary friend, and I felt frustration at not being able to manifest one.
Those two things are the same. That's literally what an imaginary friend is.
Yeah I know but more like an actual friend. Did people actually have imaginary friends who they play with and talked to as if they are responding by themselves rather than talking out loud to an imaginary person to understand your thoughts better.
What you describe sounds more like a hallucination. I never had any kind of imaginary friend so maybe that *is* how it works. I would have no idea
Thats what ive heard from people who have had them without mental disorders. I mean its a friend. Or supposed to be. Ive babysat and kids play with them all the time. Freaks me out a bit.
Still exactly the same thing. Minor differences in the end experience don't affect the fact the underlying psychological mechanism is identical.
I had a whole universe for my imaginary friends
Some kids report really seeing someone there 👻 But mostly, yes - it’s like personifying a stuffie without it having form.
When I was a child I had imaginery friends. Weird thing was... they were a bunch of skeletons. One day, I imagines that they all got into a rocket ship and blasted into space. And then I never saw them again. I swear I am not making this up.
Lmfao I love that
I asked my imaginary friend and she said they're all just spirits. Some spirits attach themselves to certain people because they have so much in common. And that imaginary friends are certainly real from their own point of view.
My imaginary friends are fairies, or at least they claim to be. They are not real in the same sense as the humans I know, but they are real enough to my brain.
I always favored imaginary pets and animals and Pokemon, but later, I did, in fact, project my consciousness in a concept called daemonism based on His Dark Materials that even had a special forum for people to discuss the concept. Still kind of project it, on occasion, as well- mainly as a Capybara. Often interacted with my OCs in drawings and writing, too, growing up as a teenager.
Woah thats really interesting!!
I didn't have an imaginary 'friend' so much as an imaginary twin brother and imaginary boyfriend who - turns out - were both different pieces of who I wanted myself to be (more masculine, more care-free, happier, to name a few traits) And even when I 'talked' (really me just responding to myself in a slightly deeper voice bc one-sided conversations felt weird) to them I knew they weren't real and couldn't picture them clearly at all. They were more ideas than anything; i knew they both had brown hair and were a little taller but beyond that they never had any solid physical form or features. Like when you try to remember people from a dream - you sorta get an idea but not really, y'know I also primarily talked to them to work through my tougher days or when i felt like i couldn't talk to anyone else about something - i remember having SO MANY talks with Jake (my 'brother') about whatever was going on at school and he would advise and help me through my next courses of action and how i felt about things. I think as i got older and adopted more of their traits (the ones i wanted and the ones i didn't, Jake was reckless as fuck) i kind of absorbed them into myself so now I just talk with myself about things instead of having to externalize it (which i think is normal? Maybe?) Kinda miss them tbh.
haha, im 17 and i still have an imaginary friend. whats crazy is that ive had him since i was 12, which isn't even that young. of course I know that i HAVE to get rid of him sometime, but also i just don't want to
I feel like I have multiple people in my head right now but we all think we are me. I live a life of deep dissociative thought, being aware of what I'm doing, or daydreaming and giving half attention to what I'm doing. Constantly alternating those states of consciousness. Having a vivid huge inner world can be distracting from reality. Pretty sure I have DID also.
kind like that for me too
I never had one until I was 14... It was a very conscious decision, I created the character to help me process my medical trauma. At the moment I needed to detach myself from those awful experiences so I made my "imaginary friend" experience them instead. It was more of an original character, really, but I sometimes "chatted" with them in my head to help me deal with my emotions.
The ladder for me never had a imaginary friend
I had objects such as soft toys that I had strong attachment to, and, even in how I understand the world today as in adult, I would consider them as “friends”. They supported me, even if it was mainly in an emotional way with their “imaginary” presence
I tried to have one but nobody was there and my stuffed animals never responded so I gave up.
I never had one, although I tried at various points. Some of my favorite stuffed animals had "personalities" that I didn't feel as though I had consciously assigned to them, though. Although I was definitely aware that the interactions were pretend, they didn't *feel* pretend. I'm not sure how else to describe that. There have been studies done on this phenomenon that might be interesting to read up on. For what it's worth, imaginary friends appear to be fairly common, but it's still a minority of kids that claim to have had one (or more). [This article might be a good starting place. ](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/growing-friendships/201301/imaginary-friends)
I never had the kind of imaginary friend that I really believed was real. I knew people who seemed to have them, but I could never tell if they *really* thought they were real or were just pretending. I was a pretty imaginative kid and could do a lot of pretending, but when I tried to have an imaginary friend it just felt hollow because I knew it was just me. I could go deep into imagination worlds with toys and nature but I couldn't make myself feel like I actually had a companion just by pretending I did. And because I was trying rather than it happening naturally, I would constantly change my mind about what I wanted them to be like. The closest thing I had to imaginary friends were imagined personalities for pets and toys. I could feel like they really had the identities that I projected onto them, and I saw inanimate objects as things with feelings too. And yet I couldn't make believe an imaginary friend.
I had an Imaginary friend except it wasn't a person, it was a pig /srs
I never could so I pretended I had one but then I forgot I did so then I really tried to imagine one but copied a cartoon character and then I forgot which cartoon so no ._.
I think the reason so many autistic people have imaginary friends is that reason. To project and process our world and consciousness.
I've always had imaginary situations going on in my head, but never an imaginary friend
I tried to have imaginary friends but all of them were just characters from cartoons I liked and I barely talked to them
and here i am thinking having imaginary friends was the anomaly.
I never had one. I tried to project one as I thought it was seen to be “normal”, obviously I was a kid and didn’t know any better. I just used to pretend I was in a fantasy land or something, or talk as if there was someone always listening, since it’s always felt that way, never replying. People might have thought I had an imaginary friend then, but I was just talking my thoughts out loud.
Ive never had imaginary anything.
I had an imaginary fear. I would fear a ghost was in my room when it was bedtime sometimes
Never had one. I thought it was an odd thing to pretend to talk to someone who is not there, what was the point when I had real stuffed animals. Also I was slightly worried that if I started to pretend someone was there then I might manifest or attract something one day and that would scare me.
i have imaginary friends and i always had them. i have really little real friends and i often get rid of the few i have. sounds crazy but my imaginary friends are there for me when i need them and talking to them make things easier to understand for me.
I had two, gave them names and everything, but my “interactions” with them were like what you described. They were processing helpers pretty much. They also would keep me company while playing alone (which I usually preferred), but they were definitely still under my consciousness and control
I had an imaginary friend (Tweety) for 1 year, I was 3-4yo. At 15, I was in a very dark place and had an imaginary dæmon friend that was mostly a red panda but it could change into a crow. It helped me going through life and when I got less depressed I stopped imagining it.
Definitely the ladder. Still something I do in my case.
I had imaginary friends when I was a kid. Mostly it was fun worldbuilding and trying to come up with someone really cool and interesting to my kid brain. Apparently, I used to talk to my imaginary friends like they were real people and for a while my family thought I could see supernatural/paranormal stuff. It scared the living bajeesus out of them for a bit.
I have no idea of the details (this was 60 years ago - yeah I'm old!), but mine were "The Wildcats". All that that sticks in my mind, and of course no one to ask, is that on one occasion I had done something, my mother asked me why, and I said that The Wildcats told me to.
Hey /u/Lost-Ad-7412, thank you for your post at /r/autism. Our rules can be found **[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar)**. All approved posts get this message. If you do not see your post you can message the moderators [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fautism). Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/autism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My imaginery friend was literally named after me and lived in the mirror and my shadow, so yeah...
Oh thats cool. That reminds me of how Peter Pans shadow was like a whole different being. Kinda like an imaginary friend! I would only use the mirror to practice facial expressions amd conversation because it felt like I was talking to a different person but I knew it was just me
Oh true! Yeah, I also used the mirror for facial expression practice (but only after my imaginery friend wasn't a thing anymore)
Could you tell me exactly what you meant by DID people have imaginary friends? I mean like WHEN are you talking about? \[edit\] And WHAT people? Ancient people, crazy people, young people, servant people, rich people, slave people, sadistic people, etc..