do people with Asperger Syndrome have Imaginary Friends?

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fiddlerpianist
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20 Nov 2009, 12:29 am

By imaginary friends, do you mean someone imaginary, or do you mean we think that someone real is our friend but it turns out that person isn't?

Growing up, I had an imaginary friend (the kind that didn't actually exist). Don't remember anything about him, though.


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wigglyspider
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20 Nov 2009, 3:39 am

I have one.


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gramirez
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20 Nov 2009, 9:30 am

I've never had any.


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LinnaeusCat
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20 Nov 2009, 9:45 am

When I was little, I "befriended" the left pedal on my tricycle and told my family his name was Andy. (Weird, I know.) I used to think of many of the things around me as being somewhat alive (kind of like animists do) and used to wonder how one shirt felt when I chose another to wear, if the doorknobs preferred to be touched by my left or my right hand, what it felt like for food to be swallowed, etc.


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LiendaBalla
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20 Nov 2009, 10:16 am

Not friends. I make imaginary aquaintence people to oppinionate with nearly all the time for a variety of emotional reasons.



sartresue
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20 Nov 2009, 10:43 am

Pretend pals topic

I would have conversations with me and myself inside my head, but no fiend who would walk beside me that I could "see".

I pretended I had a boyfriend when was 15, and cut out the picture of some boy in a magazine to "prove" it. Someone recognized the face and did I feel silly. I did not think anyone would notice. I just wanted the other teens to stop talking about it and leave me alone. :x


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jc6chan
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20 Nov 2009, 10:53 am

I don't think I ever had an imagainary friend although I imagined many things before (like cars)



Vyn
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20 Nov 2009, 3:59 pm

I have an imaginary friend by the name of Jack I talk to very occasionally. He's a tall black jamaican who's very NTish. No idea why I created the persona when I was much younger, but then again, I also see my mind split quite often. Would not surprise me if he was simply another one of the splits.

He's useful, so I keep him around. Entertaining as well.


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20 Nov 2009, 7:47 pm

Well it is a bit different than having an imaginary friend but I sort of created different personalities for myself to help me in different situations. I currently have 4 personalities all with their own names, interests and genders. I believe that it is a bit different than having a split personality disorder because I have complete control over all of them and I knowingly created them although it doesn't make me feel any less mental >,<. Has anyone else here created other personalities for themselves to help draw out certain strengths? I have one personality I use to think, another to communicate and another to do more strenuous activities.

When I was younger I used to make up friends but I knew they didn't exist and even now sometimes I feel the need to make up a person. I would head out for several hours and sit alone crying and when I got home I would tell my mom that I was hanging out with friends. I have done the same thing a few times this year but have gone out for a couple days finding a comfortable sheltered place to stay, take a few pictures of people outside(which I show to my family) and head home when I was either starving or freezing. It sounds pathetic but I don't like it when my mom worries and if she knew that I feel borderline suicidal when make friends only to later lose them due to my differences or because I can't deal with or understand how crazy NTs can be sometimes it would hurt her quite a bit. I feel so different when I talk with people and I can't seem to find much in common with people my age no matter how hard I try. I am now in a predicament where my family wants to meet my friends and I have no idea what to do. Does anyone know if a prostitute would be against pretending to be a platonic friend for an evening lmao?



PlatedDrake
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20 Nov 2009, 11:23 pm

I did, had one up until 6 or 7 years old (Sparky the royal/purle dragon). And yes, i was the one with the active imagination in my family (to the point that i scared myself sh17less about the monsters out to get me at night). It was to the point that i was scared of going to the bathroom at night because i was afraid of the Velociraptors jumping out at me (was after Jurassic Park came out). :?



david_42
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21 Nov 2009, 11:28 am

Do Internet friends count? You've never met them, probably never will, you can't see them, no one else can and they don't go places or do stuff with you.



TomBarclay
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13 Jun 2021, 4:50 pm

From a early age 5 or so I had one. I do still when life gets really rough my huge friend will come and help me or just be there for me. His name is Dinky Doo.


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13 Jun 2021, 5:57 pm


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IsabellaLinton
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13 Jun 2021, 6:29 pm

I lived in imaginary paracosms (entire dreamworlds). I had the role of being a fictitious character instead of my regular self. It was a type of trauma-dissociation because I imagined myself being someone else living in a different time and place, but I had imaginary relationships with real people like Elton John and Ozzy Osbourne.



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13 Jun 2021, 7:18 pm

I had an imaginary friend as a kid who was unfortunately a bad influence. He was very condescending, and would sometimes embarrass me in front of family and friends. I ditched him after I turned 13.

As a teenager and an adult, I had "friendships" with fictional characters, mostly male. I ditched them all after I got married, but after my divorce, I reconciled with all of them.

My new "boyfriend" is a sweet, romantic man. He would always be there for me, and is a rock star who has the coolest pets (his favorite is a badger). when I told him about my ex, he was outraged, and promised to protect me and do all the things my ex never did. We have been together for a year and a half now.


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HeroOfHyrule
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13 Jun 2021, 7:22 pm

I had some imaginary friends when I was a kid.