Imaginary friends are common among children and can be a healthy way to express creativity and cope with stress. Parents should only be concerned if the friend prevents the child from making real friends. Teenagers with imaginary friends may need to be evaluated by a mental health professional.
An imaginary friend is an imaginary friend often created by a child. The kid can treat the friend quite real. He could play with an imaginary friend or talk to him, he could try to feed him or blame the friend if a misdeed is committed.
It is quite common for a child to have an imaginary friend and that does not mean that the child has any kind of disorder. While it is the case that some children with autism have one, most children with imaginary friends have no brain processing or psychological issues.
Indeed, an imaginary friend is often a wonderful way for children to express their creativity. The friend opens up the possibility of experimenting with all kinds of fantasies. Furthermore, the friend can be of significant help to a child from a psychological point of view. The friend, or the imaginary lands the child creates, can help the child order the world the way she would like it to be.
In some cases, having an imaginary friend is a response to loneliness or excessive stress at home, making them a useful coping tool. An isolated child may need a friend to play with. Children living under stress can use their imagination to make wishes come true.
In general, parents shouldn’t worry about a child’s imaginary friend, especially when the children are young. Concern should arise when the friend prevents the child from making real friends. For example, a kindergarten child who keeps playing with his “friend” rather than interacting with other children might need a little help adjusting between the real and the imagined.
However, challenging the child and trying to force him to give up his friend is bad practice. If the imaginary friend is socially isolating the child, play therapy is helpful in allowing the child to gradually move away from him or her. Forcing the child to “face reality” can be cruel and deprives the child of the ability to order their dream life.
Concerns arise when children in their teens develop imaginary friends. It is important to establish the extent to which the child believes the friend is real. Some teenage girls have imaginary boyfriends, a harmless enough practice, when they realize the boyfriend doesn’t really exist.
However, a teenager or young adult with an imaginary friend or enemy may exhibit some degree of schizophrenia. Talking to yourself frequently or believing that some unknown enemy may be hurting suggests that the adolescent should be evaluated by a mental health professional.
Young children, by contrast, are generally quite psychologically healthy when they conceive an imaginary friend. Studies also show that these children can improve their self-esteem by having a friend who treats them with the utmost respect and unconditional love. Children are also trying to define the difference between fantasy and reality. As they mature, in most cases, the imaginary friend becomes less real, although the friend may remain a treasured memory of innocent days.
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