I agree with Perna in that the imaginary friends helped keep me isolated from those around me and not always living life in the here and now. I could always count on them and they were sort of a safety away from the harsh things in the world so that I would turn to the imaginary friends and not interact with others.

As I got older though, a grandparent encouraged them and parents did not, I didn't know whether to be ashamed or proud of having such an imagination. I have since used the vivid imagination and friends as characters by using them in stories and also as I got older to journal about them. Several T's over the years have explained, as long as they are not harmful thoughts/friends, they don't start telling you to do things, or if you are not able to separate the real from the imagined, then imagination is fine. Other than those concerns, I don't think imagination should be squashed and am in further agreement with Einstein that, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."