Imaginary friends or not

[Machelle Irby]

The earliest signs of mdd I remember was in my earliest memories. For quite a while, I had believed that I just had imaginary friends, who'd I play with for hours at a time. But now, I believe I recognize signs it wasn't simply an imaginary friend.

I was extremely close to my friend, and insisted it was real, because it felt like it did. I was so determined that I was tested for schizophrenia. However, I knew it wasn't real. I'd spend time confused why something I knew wasn't real could feel so real. Once, I screamed for the bus driver to stop, because it hit my imaginary friend. Another time, an older kid told Meir had died, and I ran away crying. I built a "scrap book" of drawings showing our whole lives together, baby pictures, and drew her in several of my earlier memories. 

I know this was a result of the MDD, but I was wondering: if your daydream character were put in the "real world", would they be an imaginary friend, or their interactions still simply daydreams?

[Kay M]

Yes, my imaginary daydream triplets were sort of like imaginary friends when I was a kid, I imagined them being with me at all times, sitting in empty seats, talking to me, and we had conversations in my head.

[MatthewR]

Hello, Machelle! It's been a long time! I can say that my daydream characters have definitely changed over the years. When i was in grade school and high school, my characters acted like "imaginary friends." That is, I talked to them, ate meals with them, and did activities with them. I would make gestures to them, and people thought i was crazy. But later, in uni i started shifting away from the "imaginary friends" and began inventing characters that i knew were not real, if that makes sense. I was trying to write stories, then, so i needed fictional people. I still remember some of the older "friends" i used to spend time with, but i guess i've since let them go. In fact, i feel a bit sad thinking about those days. I miss them.