Imaginary Friends

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I have been researching this concept a lot lately.
I find it fascinating.
First off I have created an entire universe in my head, based on random things like games, shows, books. but 2 of these things,, a Chipmunk and a Dog. based on Stuffed toys i had as a child, have stick around over the years. I have had them for as long as i can remember. I involved them in almost every facet of my fantasy life and When i have a problem with figuring things out. I litterally make them argue things out and kind of just do a "sit back and listen to them fight out the various points. I dont really see them or hear them. I have talked with counselors about it and since i dont prefer the company of them to real people, it isnt considered dangerous. But im just curious, ive talked to a few NT friends and im finding im the only one who at my age, early 20s. still has one. I do have AS
So what im kind of curious on is this some what normal among the AS community, I mean i know there is no "normal", but it would still be interesting to hear about others. How they affect people,. what kind of things people do. Just anything kind of related to Imaginary Friends.

I also find the concept of imaginary friends to be fascinating. Unfortunately, it's difficult to research because it's such a personal phenomenon and it doesn't seem to be something that mental health professionals pay much attention to.

That being said, I'm 22 and I still have imaginary friends. I have had them since I was 5 and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Throughout my life, I have been using my favorite characters from movies and television as imaginary friends. But lately I have been trying to create my own, since I am finding that other people's characters are no longer meeting my needs.

I "interact" with my imaginary friends in a couple of different ways: my favorite is by listening to music and imagining them in scenarios that match the songs. I also talk to my imaginary friends at night when I'm the only one who's awake. I also imagine them going with me whenever I go out in public, since leaving the house can make me stressed out.

I actually believe that there are probably a lot of teenagers and adults who have imaginary friends, but they just don't talk about it because they don't want to seem "crazy". I think that people who have imaginary friends should be more open about it.

I make up characters based off people in my life, both in real life and my internet life. And i make up stories/films/Tv shows/games based off things that happen in my real and internet lives.

I do that.

Since childhood I have had imaginary friends.

Currently, I have 3 imaginary friends. They all live in my car. When I am driving alone, they take turns riding in the passenger seat. Henry Ford rides in the car with me. I like to thrill him with speed

Occasionally, I will complain to my imaginary twin, she just agrees with everything I say. Despite my apperance, she is always perfectly styled. No, I have never had a twin.

The last is a male that I happily sing and talk to. He is married. He thinks I am a wonderful person. His appearance changes based on the latest male face I find friendly. Right now he looks like my psychologist. Nothing romantic... just a friendly face:-) After surgery last year he looked like my physical therapist.

Oh yeah, Sometimes I imagine salsa dancing in the car with my husband. He is an exact replica of my real husband, but he salsa dances on command It's probably a good thing my real husband does not.

I am not sure why my brain creates these people. I keep them a secret. It's probably best they stay in the car.

You know, my imaginary friends are no longer in my car. They have been gone for several months. I guess I don't need them anymore:-) They just went away:-) Sometime between Jan 2013 and Jul 2013 I feel more balanced and reality based

Guess that I shouldn't be so afraid of being looked down upon for having imaginary friends. I have a ton of them, but they come and go of their own free will. At any given time, I have between two and 200 of them with me. They don't interfere with reality, my life, my wife, or anything, so it isn't really dangerous. They just help me get through things, help with writing ideas, and so on. One of them has been around since I was five or so. His name is Sherman, and he is some burly biker dude. Highly intelligent though. I have an imaginary twin as well. We constantly argue about things. My wife just giggles and thinks that I am talking to myself. I am glad that she is so understanding. It is an interesting situation, having imaginary friends, but it can be a healthy outlet to turn to when you have no other way of venting your frustrations. They help me come up with music, poetry, fan fictions, or whatever else that i need help in.

I've had imaginary friends pretty much all my life...my first imaginary friends were my plushies, and then I began to create "invisible" imaginary friends when I was about 6. I still have both kinds of imaginary friends, too.

Just the other day Sherman came to see me. He was looking old, scarred from a bad fight, was on oxygen, and said that it was time to say goodbye. I am sad to see him go, because he was always very nice to me. Granted, he was already in his early fifties 23 years ago, so I guess it was just his time. His son SJ hangs around now though, so that helps. Do you ever find yourself missing old imaginary friends that have left or "died?"

I sometimes find myself missing Claire, an imaginary friend I created who was based on Lauren Ambrose's character from Six Feet Under....I don't know why, though, cuz when Claire was around, she wasn't all that nice, even though her main purpose was to protect me from people who were mean to me. She would tell me all these plans she had for me to exact revenge upon said people who were mean to me, and then would become upset with me when I refused - saying things like, "I don't know why I'm wasting my time here when you won't even do anything to help yourself," or implying that I was cowardly and that people were going to just walk all over me for the rest of my life. She actually reminded me of how my stepmother can sometimes get when she's in the mood to harp on all my shortcomings as a human being, which is probably why I just didn't want Claire around anymore, after awhile. Maybe I couldn't send my stepmother away when she was mean, but I could send Claire away. When I stopped thinking about her as much, it was as if my other imaginary friends gave a collective sigh of relief. Besides that, Susie (the coupe) made her way to the forefront as one of my "best" imaginary friends, and I like the way she interacts with me a lot better....she's like a combination of a sweet, indulgent mother-figure and a big sister, and I always fall asleep right away when Susie's nearby. Her presence is that calming - I've literally never felt as calm and comfortable around another human being as I have around Susie.

Maybe someday when Claire indicates that she's willing to change her attitude towards me, I'll allow her to return - ONLY on a trial basis, though, and she's going to have to earn back the trust of myriad imaginary anthro Cars, Planes, Wild Things, crows, dolphins, etc. I already have to deal with not being "good enough" for people in the real world...I don't need to deal with it inside my head, too.

My imaginary friends usually are the people I'd like to know IRL.

I made up a goofy song about them:
"Even my imaginary friends
don't want to hang around me anymore.
They've all run off with rock stars and super models
'cause hangin' 'round with me is such a bore..."

That's all I've got so far.