imaginary friends

den4

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Ah, I'm so relieved...I had thought I was losing my mind with my imaginary friends that I talk to in the mushroom forest :D

Imaginary friends no illusion


By Jennifer Harper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

American children haven't been entirely consumed by TV and commercial fare.
Two-thirds of them have had imaginary playmates "in a fantastic variety of guises," according to a joint study from Washington University and the University of Oregon released yesterday.
The fantasy pals included a squirrel, a panther, a dog, a 7-inch-tall elephant and a "100-year-old" GI Joe doll ?\ as well as "invisible" boys or girls or sympathetic stuffed animals. Some children socialized with more than a dozen imaginary companions.
The researchers found that 57 percent of the childhood chums were human and 41 percent were animals ?\ including one "human capable of transforming herself into any animal the child wanted," according to the study.
Almost all youngsters like to pretend they are someone ?\ or something ?\ else. The study found that almost all of them had pretended to be an animal or another person.
Never fear, it's all normal, said Stephanie Carlson, a Washington University psychologist and lead author of the study.
"It's somewhat of a revolving door. Children are nimble in coming up with these imaginary companions, and sometimes we have a hard time keeping up with all of the ones a child has," she said.
The research was based on two sets of interviews with 152 children ?\ when they were age 3 or 4 and at age 7.
The younger ones preferred the more substantial pal: Fifty-two percent of the preschoolers based their imaginary friends on "props," such as toys, while more than two-thirds of those created by school-age children were "invisible."
There's not much of a sex difference. Although preschool girls were more likely to have an imaginary companion, by age 7 boys were just as likely as girls to have one. More than a quarter of the children described an imaginary friend unknown to their parents.
Not all the pals are friendly. Some were described as "quite uncontrollable and some were a nuisance," researchers said.
The fantasy population can be fleeting, though.
"Imaginary companions are treated by children much in the same way as when they lose interest in toys or other activities," Ms. Carlson said. "In many cases they simply go away, or children don't remember. Other times children replace an old imaginary companion with a new one, or they go on to friendships with real kids."
Imaginary playmates have their own official function in childhood development, she said, allowing children to manage social challenges in a safe context. Some children actually practice "how to handle conflict with something that may or may not talk back to them," the study notes.
"Imaginary companions have had a bad rap from psychologists for a long time, and there was the perception that parents were getting the message that having an imaginary companion wasn't healthy," Ms. Carlson said. "But this study shows that nearly two-thirds of children have them. The striking fact is that children of all personality styles have imaginary companions."
The study was published in the current issue of Developmental Psychology, an American Psychological Association publication.
 
really?
am I not normal or completely void of fantasy then?
I never had an imaginary friend and always grew quickly bored without another person my own age around :/
 
I can't recall ever having had imaginary friends, unless perhaps, the voices in my head would qualify. But then, they are not really imaginary.
teeth.gif
 
Hum...never had imaginary friend beside my computer...
 
Imaginary Friends? Maybe not so bad.

They are certainly better than having imaginary enemies. And imaginary foes are certainly better than genuine enemies.

It is not paranoia if they are really out to get you!
 
I used to have an imaginary friend, named 'Ella', when I was little. Whenever I did something bad, I would blame it on her... :p
 
No more MPS...

I'm so glad they are not mentioning MPS, the multiple personality thing. I saw one show on PBS, and it was very, very upsetting because respectable people were ganging up in such a big hoax. They used to fool everyone, even Oprah! So I guess MPS is gone now forever, right?

On the other hand, I begin to fear that my parting with my last imaginary friend was just too much to bear. I hope I don't have to seek professional help to revive any supressed memory?

I sometimes talk to my computer, and it makes me feel good. I think the machine feels more human that way, too, at least in my imagination. It's really nothing to laugh about if you think about it. It's called anthropomorphism, and they've been doing it for at least 4,000 years. :)
 
sgt. Pepper said:
I never had an imaginary friend.
?׶??з ?? ʲ??? ķ?? ???????!
Nothing to fear, Sgt. Pepper!
It is perfectly okay if you cannot remember you imaginary friend.
Because he or she is imaginary, she can't be hurt by your forgetfulenss.
On the other hand, if you begin to realize that you "might" have forgotten her, you "might" start worrying.
To snap out of undue struggle from within, I can suggest joining an Imaginary Friends Anonymous forum for peer support.
And you needn't go anywhere.
B/C you already have come to the right place.
I understand that you are in denial; without doubt, the guilt is really too much to bear for you.
Please check with this thread from time to time, and we will get out of this together if we have to crawl.
For now, just take a deeeep breath, and everything will be fine..... :)
 
kirei_na_me said:
I used to have an imaginary friend, named 'Ella', when I was little. Whenever I did something bad, I would blame it on her... :p

LOL Kirei !!! Good plan!!!
 
kirei_na_me said:
I used to have an imaginary friend, named 'Ella', when I was little. Whenever I did something bad, I would blame it on her... :p

My mother's name is Ella, and my grandmothers was.
Never had an Imaginary friend myself. Just talked to myself, still do. Only make sense to myself and not all the time
It's getting dark now. 'Time for bed' said Zebedee
 
I've Had Hundreds Of Imaginary Friends !!

My definition of "imaginary friend" is a friend only if they can get something from you. They're willing to stab you in the back or dump you at the drop of a hat. If you require ANYTHING from them they disappear!

Frank

:blush:
 
I have had a couple of imaginery friends in my childhood...mainly because I didn't have any brothers or sisters and sometimes I became lonely, so I remember I sometimes played with my imaginary friends....:D I still remember their names!!! :D
 
I remember having an imaginary friend called Yana. I would talk to her (in my head, of course) on my way to school. The thing is, I was very shy and always thought that people were staring at me, so I tried to escape by talking to this Yana. It's crazy!!! Fortunately, I am more outgoing now and Yana is something from the past.
 
Mycernius said:
Just talked to myself, still do. Only make sense to myself and not all the time
It's getting dark now. 'Time for bed' said Zebedee
That reminds me of what my roommate once said.
He would make fun of this girl whom he saw walking and talking to herself.
Then I became aware of this interesting habit.
Then I tried it on myself, and it felt quite good.
I became more aware of my own thoughts and feelings.
So in that sense, I might be allowed to call myself an imaginary friend whom I can talk to.
She is a good listener, and she approves of my feelings in a very healthy way.
Nothing to laugh about really...
She just happens to be a little too soft on me....lets me do anything I like! :cool: :haihai:
But it's a lot better than the other one; he is very harsh, talks a lot of negative stuff, and can get me soooooo depressed! :(
The only problem is I don't have names for them.
Do they still count?
 
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I talk to myself. I'm guessing that's not healthy at this age though.

Doc
 
Doc said:
I talk to myself. I'm guessing that's not healthy at this age though.

Doc
I think at a deeper level it's also called prayer, voices, visions, or even god. :genji:
 
lexico said:
I think at a deeper level it's also called prayer, voices, visions, or even god. :genji:

I was thinking more along the lines of schizophrena.

Doc
 
I remember having an imaginary friend while I was young, because I nearly had none real... :(
 

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