...Are imaginary friends bad? 0.0

(Sorry for starting many weird threads, i just discovered this site and i´m like oh great lets ask strangers lots of things)

Also not sure in what forum to post this, but i suppose this one is the most fitting.

Is it bad to have imaginary friends? When you´re 18?
I know plenty of children have imaginary friends but like...I´m an adult now, and i still talk to someone who does not exist. (They do exist in a way, inside my mind)
Like should i just indulge myself with this fantasy person and pretend world, or should i try to focus more on real people?

PS my imaginary friend says hi he´s doing great and he doesn´t even think my posts are embarrassing wow

Coping is not a bad thing. You may want to think of your future plans in life to determine how much you’ll need people in the future, and decide accordingly

I don't think it is necessarily a -bad- thing, but it could be considered a maladaptive coping mechanism. I used to daydream a lot about a fantasy world, and would create stories in my head. It was not a -bad- thing either, but I would do this for several hours a day and it impacted my daily life.

You may find it harder to find peers your age who are 100% OK with you having an imaginary friend. It may lead to you having a harder time making real life friends. If you are totally fine with that, then having an imaginary friend should not impact you too much (unless you are talking to them out loud in public or at work).

This friend evidently meets some needs you have. I think as long as you know the friend is imaginary, then it's okay for right now. But it would be good if you try to start having some real-life friends, too, to meet your needs. My two cents' worth, anyway.

You can have this “ friend” but you need real in life friends that you go out and do things with and not that guy that is abusive, yes he abuses you.

Thank you... It does make me sad when i see people on my social media hanging out with their friends. I hope if i do make a friend i´ll be a good one. I get jealous very easily, and it´s hard for me to connect with someone. I have a few friends at school, but i secretly wish for them to fail and it´s a very competitive friendship.

I used to almost think he was real, this imaginary friend. I did not even call him imaginary. But then i had a sad breakdown and admitted to myself that he was not physically, real.
Another weird thing is that my imaginary friend is based on someone i met online when i was around 13. He was my friend, but he was also a bit sketchy, he was like 50 and gave compliments he probably should not give to a 13 year old. Maybe is should invent a totally new imaginary friend, like an imaginary talking cat or something.

I’ll be honest I’ve had imaginary friends and family. That’s how I got through my whole life since I was 5 or so. I’m an adult now and I still do it. It is a coping skill. I also questioned it and brought it up to my therapist and I got no response from her. I questioned as well if it was normal. I have a whole total different life there and I can control the whole scenario. I know it’s not real but it’s my comfort zone an swithout it I feel alone. I think eventually it’s best to go to a therapist and explain it in order to see where your needs are not being met or where that is coming from. Perhaps changes can be made with the help of a therapist. The only way I saw it as being an issue was that I felt at times like I wasn’t present enough or that I used to drift off to that world at times.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I only spend time with this imaginary person whenever i´m alone, so i don´t think it´s much or a problem, yet, haha...I´m very happy when i´m immersed in my imaginary world (there´s cows and a cafe and lots of hills and lakes there) but whenever i have to snap out of it, i feel sad returning back to my normal life.

Trigger warning maybe?????



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I kind of think a lot about ending my life and dying because i believe when i die i´ll be sent to this imaginary paradise realm with this imaginary person. I don´t have any proof this is how death works but i´m thinking of it more and more and find myself convinced it´s what will happen if i end my life.
The heck

You feel so comfortable with your imaginary friend you find reality futile.
I can understand that. However, reality has given image to your imaginary friend, as we use reality to shape our imagination, just like inspiration.
I find drawing my inner world helpful. You can try that with your imaginary friend.

Oh. Thank you, that was a wonderful idea. I love drawing!

Sounds like a great place. Sometimes it’s nice to get away. Haha