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Question about mixing fantasy with reality and Autism

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FranzOren
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01 Sep 2020, 2:46 pm

Is mixing fantasy with reality or being over-imaginative observed in populations with developmental delays or learning disorder?



Romofan
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01 Sep 2020, 2:49 pm

Sometimes when I am exhausted by socializing I begin to...not lie, but my fact checking faculty relaxes. I hate that, because I am an honest person generally.

In general, I have a pretty healthy "imaginary life", like most loners. I try to read rather than watch tv/surf the dreaded web, and reading tends to expand your imagination, not always beneficially. I also talk to myself, which bothers me.


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Last edited by Romofan on 01 Sep 2020, 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Pieplup
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01 Sep 2020, 3:10 pm

FranzOren wrote:
Is mixing fantasy with reality or being over-imaginative observed in populations with developmental delays or learning disorder?

It definitely seems that autistic people can be overly-imaginative. I know my imaginary friends haven't left me. My Imagination is a bit impaired by aphantasia. As for me, I have completely lost the ability to tell what is real and what is false in some ways. I think that's not autism related however. I think that's more related to me shattering the layers of delusion that i had as a coping mechanism. Having broke free from that. I know have trouble understanding what is real and what is false. I've lost a part of my sense of self. I often have trouble explaining or understanding why i do things. Alot of autistic people are extremely visual people and as such have very vivid imaginations. Naturally as autistic people have trouble forming connections with other people. They'd retreat into themselves to do that. Infact, that's what autism means. the way I understand it it means retreat into oneself. I think ism is defined as this doctrine, system, manner, condition, act or characteristic. Now, I'm pretty sure most autistic people understand the difference between reality and fantasy. I think they know it's not real. Like, I know my imaginary friends aren't real. for me it's simply an escape a coping mechanism. Weirdly enough, I didn't start having imaginary friends till i was? 9 or 10 maybe 11. atleast not that i can remember. Then again my memory problems have gotten significantly wores recently. You'd think getting over repressed memories would help it but not really.
I mean specifically mixing fantasy with reality. Wouldn't alot of things do that. Imaginary friends eem to fit that well. Really wouldn't just using imagination fit that?


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eyelessshiver
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01 Sep 2020, 3:49 pm

When I was younger, I had a vivid and baroque "imaginary world" for a lot of years. It was private and I didn't tell people about it. Gradually over time it lessened. I realized my imagination was running away with me a bit. It's because of how powerful my imagination is that it grew to be what it was. If it hadn't seemed so real and so rich, then I wouldn't have been drawn to that world in the first place. I'd say this was most active from ages 5-13, but before and after as well. As an adult I tend to be a deep thinker and to imagine things and ideas, but it isn't the same kind of actively inhabiting a fantasy world that it used to be. My imagination has gone through various stages in my life, but has been there for almost as long as I can remember. These days I try to use it for practical things if possible...



FranzOren
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13 Sep 2020, 4:23 pm

Thank you