Talking to imaginary people and avpd

[EscapeArtist]

Hey, don't worry about this, I do this too. I might start thinking something like "hmm, what if I stepped on a farmer's toe while walking down the street..." And i'll begin to frantically pace, and talk under my breath to the farmer including hand movements.. Get really into the story in my mind, and this can go on for up to 30 minutes until I suddenly come back to reality and realize what I've been doing.
I did it a lot more though when I had constant brain fog and was constantly morphing out of reality. But, I think it's simply a habit, and it's nothing like schizophrenia, nothing to worry over mon ami

 

[Silentknight]

So with these Imaginary Friends, are you actually going through a process of thinking of the reply from the other person's perspective, or is the reply just popping into you head without much thought?

In my experience if I'm imagining a person I know I think of a reply that person would actually say, when I'm thinking of someone I don't know I think of a reply based on what I think the person is like and what they would say.

 

[LazyHermitCrab]

..I do this this too.. mostly before bed I don't imagine myself in the play or whatever, just some of my thoughts in someone else. It would be cool to actually see it..ha

 

[edtmrk]

When I was a kid, in elementary school, I developed an imaginary world in my mind with cities, people, government, etc. that I created when I was very lonely and isolated, mainly when I was going around the school yard alone at recess.

While other kids have childhood memories of birthday parties, first kisses, etc. I have my imaginary world which still remains with me as a memory. I can either be ashamed of this or I can embrace the fact that I was able to create a complex world in my mind that I could imagine. I choose the latter.

 

[nickbutler88]

I do this a lot. If I'm bored and on my own (which is a lot of the time), I tend to chat about stuff to an imaginary character (like another me) in my head, about certain topics I would never normally discuss with a real life person because I am too scared of what they might think of me. I improvise the dialogue for my "other" self, who I can choose to make whoever I want (usually the polar opposite of myself) and then responding to it. I can make them look and talk however I want, and I feel completely relaxed because they're not real, as it's real people and real communication that terrify me. Sometimes I do it just as practice for when I have a real conversation as talking to myself can occasionally help me to uncover and remember things I've forgotten such as places I've been to, a funny quote I heard on TV, etc. By talking to myself and my character, I do not have to be afraid of being judged. I can respond if, how and whenever I want, and at my own pace. Plus it doesn't even have to flow like an ordinary conversation, it could just be a chain of random thoughts and ideas, and then my other self responds to them, like a conscience only personified. The only problem with real conversations though is that they are more difficult because you are not pulling the other person's strings, so to speak. You cannot choose their words, and they are judging you. So I feel more comfortable living in a world that I've created in my own head than in the real world.

 

[Shant]

I do this all the time. Just like talking to myself.

It's really simple actually. I have no one to talk to, and I'm naturally talkative, so I resort to this. I just flat-out don't care anymore, actually, I'll do it anyways, it's not exactly my fault anyways.

 

[mozart87]

When I was a kid, in elementary school, I developed an imaginary world in my mind with cities, people, government, etc. that I created when I was very lonely and isolated, mainly when I was going around the school yard alone at recess.

wow...did you ever think of writing a novel, a scenario whatever? It could be something great for others to read!

 

[MrJones]

When I was a kid, in elementary school, I developed an imaginary world in my mind with cities, people, government, etc. that I created when I was very lonely and isolated, mainly when I was going around the school yard alone at recess.

While other kids have childhood memories of birthday parties, first kisses, etc. I have my imaginary world which still remains with me as a memory. I can either be ashamed of this or I can embrace the fact that I was able to create a complex world in my mind that I could imagine. I choose the latter.

Mozart is right (I thought I'd never say that lol), every great artist has a beginning.

I couldn't resist thinking about Rhye and early Queen songs while reading your post

 

[idk123]

I kind of do the same thing. Sometimes I make up events in my heads, like "what if moments", and I'll mumble something under my breath because of it. It helps me cope knowing that if I can think it then maybe it can come true.

 

[MaliceInWickedland]

I don't think there's anything strange about that. I actually have this routine where I sit in front of my grandmother's urn and talk to her as if she were still alive and sitting there in front of me engaging in conversation. Kind of sad and creepy huh? I'm home alone until 7 pm when my mom gets back from work with just my pet leopard gecko to keep me company. Talking to her isn't really enough though since she just stares at me and randomly licks at her eye when I try to have a "conversation" with her, hehe ::

Killing loneliness never felt better.

 

[Ryguy2598]

I talk to imaginary people. They are not imaginary people that I actually see or hear. They are just imaginary people that I visualize intuitively. Sometimes it is people that I actually know in real life other times it's celebrities that I'm attracted too. If you saw me talking to myself you would think I was having a conversation with some voice in my head. I don't hear voices though. I tend to see myself as "doing the other voices" for these imagined people. I don't know why this is or if it has anything to do with my AVPD. It's not like I plan it out Maybe some people will talk in front of a mirror to practice for an interview but this is nothing like that. The way it happens is in the normal course of my thoughts like say I'm sitting down alone and some person pops into my head and I began to wish that I had the courage to talk to this person but I know I can't so I make up this conversation and I really immerse myself in it I'll start moving my hands and start walking and talking. I can partialy visualize the setting that we are talking in and even see this person. A big problem I have with this though is after when I start to lose the immersivness I feel stupid for doing this like I'll never be able to have these types of conversations in life also I'm worried as to what, what I do means does it mean I have some form of schizophrenia or something else as severe or is this something not worry about?

Well I'm pretty sure everyone talks to themselves in their heads sometimes when they're alone......but I've never really pictured a celebrity or someone else to be that someone else I'm talking to......I'm just talking to me inside my head.

 

[bangdrum]

But it stays inside because I'm an introvert. I don't talk out loud to imaginary people; I have them communicate inside my head. And I rarely put myself in this world because there is a danger that you can break from reality that way. I just have characters that play out a plot line. And I have multiple worlds.

This is exactly what I do. I have an assorted cast inside my head, real people, fictional people, fictional versions of people, and celebrities. I'm not in that world; I just control and observe it, I guess.

Anytime my mother tries to empathize with my "daydreaming" or "fantasizing" she thinks what I do is imagine I'm a rock star or going to bed with a celebrity or whatever, and that's absolutely not what I do. I'm too boring to live; I don't want to think about myself all day!

Does this mean I'm not crazy too?

 

[HeadFace]

You sound like me...
Well kinda.
Sometimes I talk to an imaginary audience about my life, like some sort of stand-up comedian except not funny.
Sometimes I just talk out loud randomly about people, or my life or something.
I know it's not schizophrenia because mostly I think of responses or reply to myself.
The only way it'd be schizophrenia is if these people you conversate with seem real to you, and talk to you when you're not occupied.
And I mean real as in sometimes you can't tell reality from your own mind

 

[armadillo]

I talk to imaginary people exactly as you've described. I've done it my whole life practically. And yes, I've been caught doing it, and it's very embarrassing.

I used to think I had mental health issues, but now I just think it's my brain's way of telling me how I feel about something. It's like that's the way it thinks through problems or possibilities. These days when I find myself doing this, I pause and ask myself, "So what is this scenario suggesting? Is there something unresolved in my life that I need to attend to?" And then I decide what I will do about in reality. Works for me.

It feels like a pressure valve release mechanism, if you know what I mean. It gets my feelings out in the open where I can view them better. But it's kind of annoying too because it's time consuming. I wish I was more intuitively aware of my feelings without having to play them out in make-believe scenarios.

 

[Silentknight]

Wow I posted this thread over a year ago and people are still writing their stories on it which is really cool, it's also cool to know I'm not as alone with this as I thought. Anyways over the past year I think I've come to the understanding that the reason I do it is because my lack of human contact since I don't really have friends I see on a daily or even weekly basis and even though I've been taking classes this summer I don't really talk to anyone their unless I'm forced to.
Also for those who care (which is probably no one) I apologize for not being on this site for months, but hopefully that will change

 

[BornThisWay]

I do this all the time and have for years. I'm always day dreaming. I've had people tell me all the time that I'm always lost. I'm lost in fantasy & I wish it could be my reality but obviously I can't.. :/

 

[Kiwong]

I create movie length scripts of my imaginary dialogue with people, revolving around many and varied paranoid scenarios.

 

[DrsJacksonn]

Well I talk to myself so often people complain about it. I occasionally feel the need to discuss a certain thing. Something, usually common or trivial, that I just can't get rid off without saying it out loud as if I have an audience or some sort of a listener. It always turns into an entire discussion.

So yes, maybe it is a symptom of this AvPD thing.

 

[lyricalliaisons]

I've had an imaginary world, full of imaginary people, inside my head for years. They keep me company & are the closest thing I actually have to friends. I don't know what i would do without them. I know they're not real, but it makes me feel bad to really think about it because they're all I have.

 

[Inferiorpotter]

It kind of makes me feel better to think I am not alone in this as well. I do this all the time. But the problem is I want to stop but it's just automatic thing. For example, I tend to visualize and imagine some hypothetical situation and I have this great conversation. But the strange thing is I always end up saying it in reality as if I am talking to that person. A few times I did it in public and it was pretty embarrasing. Of course I am not schizophernic. ALso, I often imagine really comical situation and funny situation and always end up Uncontrollably smile and laugh out loud.
Recently, I have been analyzing these. These visualization and imagination usually begins when I feel extremly jealous. For example, on a T.V. some guy gets with a hot girl I desire. Then I try to imagine where I am all better than that guy and I get the girl eventually. My visualizations usually start with this followed by conversations.