imaginary friends?

[KaoEd-Ran]

okay, so i'm 13, and a recent issue caused me to lose my only friends. i'm home-educated so i only see my family during the day and my schoolwork is done in my room so it's not often. i was wondering, in this curcumstance, is it okay to have an imaginary friend to keep me company?

i went through a time like this with no friends and having imaginary friends really helped me keep depression at bay.
i accidentally let slip about my current imaginary friend around the dinner table and my dad was really concerned. i only escaped him going nuts by telling him that i use the characters to develop a story i'm writing, which is completely true.

i'm totally aware that my imaginary friend dosn't exist and is a fictional character that i made up and there's no way i'll let it affect my social skills. that being said, i'm still worried whether my dad is gonna call a mental hospital for me or something. i don't want to be called psycho, this is my way of dealing with isolation. if i don't deal with it, i'll probably fall into depression, and that's not a good pit to be in.

[baara]

We all have different ways of dealing with things. As long as you KNOW they aren't real and it isn't actually effecting you, then it is okay to have them.

[Thirteen]

Honestly, the fact that you're aware of what your mind is doing, and that it's just your loneliness trying to help you feel better, it seems perfectly fine.

If these "imaginary friends" were voices in your head, telling you to do bad things, or something like that, then I'd say it's an issue. If it's a harmless coping mechanism, I'm sure that even if your dad DID assume the worst, a professional would be able to tell him otherwise.

[Pensive14]

yeah you shouldn't worry about it. It might help you to think of imaginary friends as the echo of your own voice when no one answers back. If anything imaginary friends are beneficial because they allow a new perspective of yourself.
As for your dad, let's just say you should keep imaginary friends under wraps.

Also, if you want help with understanding why your imaginary friends act the way they do, send me a message. Been there. Still there

[KaoEd-Ran]

thanks for replying :3 my dad hasn't said anything further about this and i've given him chance to pull me up and talk about it so i think it's all okay on his side ^^

it's good to know that this kind of thing is okay, and having researched about imaginary friends, i've found that many teens also have them as a coping mechanism, it'd nice to look up away from my computer screen and imagine a friend waving at me, it's somewhat comforting ^^

the human mind works in odd ways xP

[Pensive14]

it sure does

[Revolution]

I've totally done this before. I love to write, and sometimes when I'm lonely, I will "talk" to my characters. Just to keep myself company. I actually think it can be a healthy coping skill, as long with you stay with reality enough to know they are fictional. I think it's a good idea. Just let your friends know it's all fiction, my friends know. They might think it's weird at first, but now, I actually have characters my friends refer to. Maybe I just have weird friends, but I think real friends understand.

[Cereal And Milk]

Don't feel embarrassed, about imaginary friends, no one is perfect. if it does get to far, you should go to a therapist, that's what i would reccomend for you and to talk about it

[GirlInTheHi-Tops]

I've done the exact same thing, I have a troupe of imaginary friends to keep me from going nuts with loneliness. I've talked about it with my therapist, and she says it's actually a really good thing- it means your mind is protecting itself from depression and isolation and keeping you healthy. It's a smart thing to do, apparently.

[Dez]

As long as you know that they are not real, it is okay. I do "talk" to imaginary friends sometimes, but I know they're not real. It's okay to do as long as you don't take it too far.