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. When I was 14 it was a fake mom and dad, I guess to replace my divorced parents. Sometimes it is people that I actually know in real life. 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 real and imagined people. I don't know why this is or if this is normal. It's not like I plan it out. Maybe some people will talk in front of a mirror to practice for an interview. It is nothing like that. The way it happens is in the normal course of my thoughts. I have already posted this problem on other boards to get the most responses possible and now I'm posting here. What I would like to know is if you think this is a symptom of some sort of mental illness? I don't have an appointment with a psychiatrist for another week and a half, so I kind of need some help now. Also some advice for when I go to talk to him would be nice.
Last edited by curiouslearner; 07-09-2005 at 09:57 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to curiouslearner For This Useful Post: mid9itestreasur (02-13-2012)
I'm still wondering about this too, CuriousLearner! It seems that we haven't gotten a straight answer yet besides speculations of Dissociative Identity Disorder, which I'm pretty sure it isn't. The way you've described it this time pretty much hits it on the head. I know now that we definitely experience the same thing, and it kind of disturbs me that nobody else can seem to relate. If it's not schizophrenia or DID, what in the world is it?! I'll ask my therapist tomorrow, and keep you posted. I'm almost afraid to mention it for fear that he'll get the wrong idea and think that I'm hearing voices. It's not really something that's easy to explain... If you hear anything, PLEASE let me know! I'd greatly appreciate it!
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
__________________
"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal,' must necessarily be 'inferior.'"
-Hans Asperger
The Following User Says Thank You to GatsbyLuvr1920 For This Useful Post: mid9itestreasur (02-13-2012)
Yes, keep me posted and let me know what he has to say. It would be good to know. I'll tell you that I once gave this problem to one of my therapists and he said it was "normal" except that I do it extensively.Maybe it is just normal talk and I do it too much because I'm bored or something. I don't know. But keep me posted.
Just out of curiosity- when you talk as one of your imaginary people, do you feel as if you're taking on their actions and become the embodiment of their personality? In other words, do you feel like you're them, even though you know they're not real? This is what happens to me. I literally feel like I am them, but it's weird because it's not like it's another personality of mine because I created it in the first place! I think it's sooo neat that I was able to find someone with this same thing, CuriousLearner. Do you find that you do it more often when your mind's idle? That's when I do it. Like today, for example. Our electricity went out and I was so bored, so my mind just drifted into the conversations between my characters. It also happens a lot while I'm on the computer, too. You mentioned that you have an alternate family- do you still use them? What're the characters you use most often and most recently? Sorry if I'm being so nosy, but I find this positively fascinating! Please write back!
Your fellow "Self-Talker,"
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
__________________
"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal,' must necessarily be 'inferior.'"
-Hans Asperger
Well, when I'm talking, my mind has to create the words of the other people in my scenario. I mean that I have to imagine what theyre saying, too, so that I can keep on talking. So my mind, in effect, is reciting the words of every one in my little scenario. Maybe I'll be thinking about a moment that involves my family where we're talking about a movie we just saw. I have to speak for every one of my family members in order to have a complete mental vision of the moment. And I can get so caught up in it that I am literally sitting there saying "yes" "no" as if I were actually talking with them, which is why I said that if somebody walked in on me, they would think I was talking to some voice in my head. Cept, it's not a voice. It's just like a really vivid "fantasy." I have speculated that I do it to experience the excitment, joy, pain, and other emotions that I am not getting in my normal life since I don't interact with people so much because of my anxiety. To answer your question, I don't necessarily feel that I AM the other personality. It's actually so hard to explain...
I think I know what you mean- the only voice you do is your own, but you're talking to other people, whose answers are in your head. See, I either do scenarios as my characters completely in my head without uttering a word or I do the voices of my characters out loud. The only time I'm just talking to myself is if I want to address my feelings on some issue, but I'm not actually responding to an imaginary person inside my mind. It IS hard to explain, and seeing it written down makes me think that I truly am crazy! LOL! And I wish someone else would respond, too. It is disquieting that nobody has any answers for us... Either nobody understands it, or they've never heard of it before.
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
__________________
"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal,' must necessarily be 'inferior.'"
-Hans Asperger
Last edited by GatsbyLuvr1920; 07-11-2005 at 04:44 AM.
The Following User Says Thank You to GatsbyLuvr1920 For This Useful Post: radicalprincess (02-08-2012)
I've read the whole thread here thus far, I don't have anything like this. But I do have mental conversations with myself. I sometimes write it off as some type of prayer or some way of talking to God. Sometimes I wouldn't even want God to hear the types of things that I say. I have a job were I sit in a small room with no co-workers, for 12 hrs a-day, 84 hrs a-week. I think I fall into the just bored catagory. On the other hand, my former room-mate and best friend of 7 yrs. has something like what your talking about. She really didn't/hasn't talk/talked about it much, though she did feel it important to warn me about before we moved in together. I guess I might have freaked out if I would have just walked in on her conversing with herself had I not known, but it never bothered me. Sorry I couldn't help.
I have this problem too. I've been looking for an answer for a long time and this is the first time i've seen this talked about and also it's the first time i've found someone who experiences the same thing. I've been doing this since i was a kid and i've always found it weird but i've never heard of others having the problem. I don't see a therapist even if because of some other stuff friends have sugestted i should so if anyone has finally figured what this is i would be really grateful to know what it is. I tried not doing it for a while but i couldn't. It's like i can't stop. I can go for a few weeks without talking like this but then i'll just start talking without meaning too.
Wow - this happens as well to me as so. It's kind of like your visualizing a situation and your playing it out in your head, and then you kind of "speak" your thoughts out to these imaginary people, and these people can come from real life or just made-up. That's sounds remarkably similar to what I do sometimes, and with that, I kind of wonder if I'm OCD as well.(I doubt I am though )
But.. umm. I think all that roleplaying stuff may be something that people with active imaginations do. I've read "the misdiagnosis and dual diagnosis for gifted children"(I'm sure you remember gatsby), and most of everything that gastbylurver wrote and curiouslearner also wrote reminds me alot of the passage I read about creative children and the need to imagine characters and situations; So I think maybe it's just creative role playing.
Maybe I'm off by a lot on this and I'm not truly understanding what you're saying, but it sounds alot like an active imagination(could also be called an "over-active" imagination).
Last edited by curiouskittie; 10-21-2005 at 04:32 PM.
Maybe I'm off by a lot on this and I'm not truly understanding what you're saying, but it sounds alot like an active imagination(could also be called an "over-active" imagination).
That's true...i've thought about it as "over-active" imagination. The thing that kind of disturbes me is the fact that i can't really stop doing it.
I agree with both of you: CuriousKittie- I do think that it's partially due to an "overactive imagination," but I also agree with olguta that it's more than that because we can't stop it. The fact that it's beyond our control signifies that it's compulsive in some way. I was sorting my psychiatric research last night, and I found an article I printed out that I had forgotten about. It actually mentioned the exact thing that we've all been describing that we do. They said that it's a "mental tic", like you'd see in OCD or Tourette's, thus explaining the echolalia in the mind. They said that it's related to OCD because you get the same thing stuck in your mind over and over again, you have to perform it perfectly and "act it out", and it's uncontrollable. I forgot that I had found something that described what we have, but just the fact that it HAS been described is a good thing, I think! Maybe try doing a search on "mental tics" on the Internet? Write back soon!
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
__________________
"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal,' must necessarily be 'inferior.'"
-Hans Asperger
The Following User Says Thank You to GatsbyLuvr1920 For This Useful Post: radicalprincess (02-08-2012)
I've had this since I was young. I'm not very good socially and make up for it, by acting out future/past conversations, in different characters voices. I usually don't know I'm doing it till the conversation comes close to an end. Personally, I don't think its anything you should worry about. I've never known anyone else who did this until now. Its good to know I'm not the only one that does it.
I should of added that I've been diagnosed schizo-effective and are on Seroquel.
Last edited by leomarchen; 10-23-2005 at 01:20 PM.
Reason: Needed to mention something of importance.
I've been looking on the net for the article that GatsbyLuvr1920 wrote about all afternoon...no luck . But i do agree that it probably is OCD related since we can't stop this behaviour. I have never seen a therapist but i have read about OCD before after realising that some of the stuff i do aren't exactly normal.
The only reason that i worry about this more is the fact that i have had moments when i really couldn't stop myself. For example i was visiting someone and i locked myself in the bathroom and "acted out" which was highly embarrasing :P. And it hasn't happened just once so that's why i am worried about it .
Also i was curious: do you have moments when you do it more? I for example act more when i go to bed. Highly annoying since i just sit in bed and talk . Writting about this really makes me seem crazy
wow, I was thinking about posting about this. I started this imaginary world when I was a kid, but have had the same people since I was 15 and its been going ever since, about 14 yrs. They are like a soap opera in my head. Every night to go to sleep...I watch the soap...sometimes I act it out. The situations are usually ones in my actual life and the people or charcters are mostly ones with characteristics I desire. They all have names, qualities, ages, they have aged with me, etc. I found when I am most stressed or lonely I do this. Only twice since I was 15 did this stop and this was when I was in a relationship. The thing just stopped, it was weird...but as soon as the relationship ended, it started again.
I heard once something like this is due to being lonely.
I'm so relieved to find this thread. This feels so weird to write about my private fantasies that have been going on for 14 yrs. I think all these people (I know they are not real and all figments of my imagination, but they all have different parts of my personality) will continue with me til I die...or get married or something.
can anyone else relate? I do act it out sometimes, I used to more when I was younger. But I do have the same thing...wow...I knew I couldnt be the only person on the planet!
p.s. other than this, and bouts with depression and anxiety, I am a perfectly normal, functioning adult. No one would guess this about me. I have never told anyone, not my closest friends. I dont attribute this to insanity, but loneliness (which I must admit to being deep down, very lonely). Just think, maybe we possess the qualities that the fiction writers and actors have, they have to be "other" people right? and they arent insane.
alsaser- Yes, yes, YES! That's exactly what it's like- a "soap opera" in your head! With the same characters! I've done this all of my life- ever since I played with Barbies as a little girl, but it wasn't normal play. I'd act out scenarios after the dolls were put away. I also made up imaginary families, including an imaginary twin and an aunt and uncle that had twelve kids- still remember all of their names and ages, too...I think I've had major "stages" in the "soap opera". When I was 13, I threw all of my dolls away because I never played with them...except in my head, of course. The last three Barbies I had were a set of triplets that I had created from very similar looking dolls. I cannot tell you how long afterwards I used them! Must have been my junior year of high school (I'm a college freshman)! I was sooo glad when I stopped doing them because they just plain annoyed me in the last few years. I remember when I first got the dolls, named them, and their different personalities. I chose really strange names for them- I guess one of my quirks has always been an abnormal fascination with multiples and unusual names- they all had weird names, but semi-normal nicknames: Lucretia (Libby), Catalina (Cassie), and Quinnette (Quinn). Now, I basically only act out my cartoon characters that I have created long, long ago. I remember when I was seven, I started drawing my own characters, and I have reformed them many, many times since then. Still, two of my five characters are the originals from about nine years old, and their personalities are the same as well. Of course, I have added new people- refined from selecting only my favorites and getting rid of the ones that just plain annoyed me. I decided to make my main girl bipolar when I started getting interested in abnormal psych, but since I knew how infuriating it is to read incorrect stereotypes of OCD (i.e. "they all like to be clean, orderly, and have things a certain way"), I did extensive research on bipolar disorder before I ever decided to do a storyline on it because I wanted to portray it accurately. What really makes me happy now is that I have had her be bipolar I for two years now, and when I wrote a story for my Creative Writing Club last year at school, her manic ramblings I put in turned out to be very, very grammatically similar to a real-life account of a manic woman that I found months afterwards. As strange as it sounds, this makes me happy because I know that I have taken my knowledge and utilized it correctly, rather than stereotypically. What's really creepy is that I've created a cursive handwriting for my girl that isn't like my own script, and I can write using it now without even thinking- at the beginning, I had to actually think up different ways to make the letters and it took me a long time to write something because I had to remember what each letter looked like, but now, if you ask me to write with it, it's as painless as if you asked me to write in my own handwriting. At least now, since I pretty much only act out scenes with my five characters (unless I have to recite lines from movies and TV shows, which also occurs quite frequently), I don't feel like it's nearly as strange anymore. After all, these characters ARE tangible, I can use the ideas for future storylines, and I can practice "being" the character, especially my bipolar girl. She's usually the one I do the most because I do a voice for her, and I love to practice doing my accents so I don't forget how. For her, I wanted a child-like voice, and after two years of perfecting it, I have nailed down a very high-pitched voice that sounds nothing like my own. Probably another reason I loved playing with Barbies- I had other tangible objects to be the personas and I could do my voices. Over the years, I've taught myself to do a New York accent, British accent, Southern (I have two classifications- regular or high-pitched Southern belle), mysterious foreign/Slavic/Russian accent, Valley girl, and, of course, my high-pitched voice. I tend to act out my "soap opera" the most when I'm on the computer and not typing like I am now (just surfing the Internet or playing Solitaire or something), walking by myself, or standing in line. If you really want to know the truth, I think I do it during these situations because my mind isn't occupied, and I try to do something to keep the obsessions away- I've noticed that, since my OCD struck full-force at 12, right when I threw the dolls away, I just increased the amount of time I do it because, for me, an empty mind equals a breeding ground for obsessions. That's pretty much the only useful thing for it besides creativity is that it keeps you occupied- it really does come in handy in amusement park lines, which can be hours long...It is refreshing to see that more and more people are coming forth to say that they experience this, which definitely says that it's a condition of some sort. I think that it's just sooo hard to explain, comprehend, and describe that once you see someone else say it, you know you can relate. Write back soon- it does certainly help to talk to someone! Oh, and I just read your second post, and yes, only my mom knows about it, and I, too, feel that it's the same as what a fiction writer would do! I also find it interesting that you say that the characters have personality traits you wish you could have- I do the same! Well, not really traits, but I've always been entranced by the life of the wealthy, so I've always, always had a character (from Barbies to one of my cartoon characters- she's been around since age nine) be some rich, snobby, seductive, cold-hearted, popular witch, and of course, her boyfriend (the other character who has been around since age 9) is as equally rich, popular, and gorgeous. With the Barbies, I used to play out a metaphorical "social strata heirarchy" on my steps, with the rich, popular girls on the top step and the poor and/or unpopular ones on the bottom. So, of course, I've transcended this into my cartoon, where my bipolar girl is constantly being tormented by the rich girl. All of this experience is probably why I'm so good at writing scripts for plays we did in English class! lol! For our final in my AP English class junior year, we had to write a play incorporating six characters from different books- had a field day with Gatsby (naturally! and, which was all about the fabulous lifestyle of...the wealthy!) and Holden Caulfield, who coincidentally, was most likely bipolar- got to put in lots of ramblings there, and now that I think of it, writing for Holden is probably where I learned how to master writing for my girl when she's manic! Talk to you soon!
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
__________________
"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal,' must necessarily be 'inferior.'"
-Hans Asperger
Last edited by GatsbyLuvr1920; 10-23-2005 at 03:39 PM.
I never would thought that someone else had this! Wow...I was reading all of the posts and I had to catch my breath for a moment. I think alsaser said it the best. Its like a soap in your head.
But to stray away a bit, its like i created these people for me but they took on a life of their own.
Has anyone's stories fluctuate with mood? Like you're sadder stories when you're sad - angry stories when you're mad...etc?
Gatsybe and SuchGreatHeights,
Wow, this is weird! I'm so glad I found people who understand. Yes, they have lives of their own and their moods fluctuate with mine, when I'm sad, or jealous, so are they. When I'm angry, something happens in their lives and they're angry. One guy, "B" is depressed and drinks a lot, another guy "K" is a former herion and other drug addict and he's manic but on medication (i actually did research on the drugs to make sure I got things right for my story). Btw, I dont drink or do drugs, so I dont know why they do...gives me more drama. (The ex junkie went to prison for a year). The guys are all real cute. When my best friend in real life commited suicide, so did one of my guy's brothers, I grieved and he grieved at the same time. When my mom died in real life, so did the ex-junkie's mom. Plus, the girls are all real pretty and have perfect figures, there are some less attractive people that are jealous of my main 4, some characters come and go. One of my girls "D" looks like Fiona Apple. One of my couples was dating for years (B $ D) and they had a child and broke up and now he's remarried to another girl "S", his other ex, they were dating for years, about 6 yrs ago. I even know the years they were born. They have aged with me, but they are quite a few years older than me.
Sometimes when I'm scared or nervous about something..like to kill a spider, I pretend I'm one of the guys and act out that he's doing it, cause guys arent afraid of bugs. When I have anxiety issues, so does one of my girls (B), she's married to the ex-junkie who's now a Christian. My characters deal with death, marriage, children, everything. They are so much a part of me...like different aspects of my personality.
I played with Barbies too til I was about 14 and had a series going on than too.
Yes, during down-time, if I'm bored, I start my soap opera or especially when I go to sleep..I turn off my mind and go into my world, it helps me sleep. Sometimes I do act it out. Even when I'm driving or exercising, I pretend to be one of them sometimes.
I dont have OCD, I just have a fantasy world. But, there's no harm in it right? Are either of you, deep down, lonely?
Thats so cool...I'm glad I'm talking about this with people who understand!!! I bet you its much more common then we think..its just so personal. Keep me updated.
p.s. I love Catcher in the Rye!
If you hear anything, PLEASE let me know! I'd greatly appreciate it! 
It also happens a lot while I'm on the computer, too. You mentioned that you have an alternate family- do you still use them? What're the characters you use most often and most recently? Sorry if I'm being so nosy, but I find this positively fascinating! 
And I wish someone else would respond, too. It is disquieting that nobody has any answers for us... Either nobody understands it, or they've never heard of it before.
)
Re: Imaginary People and Self-Talk 
. But i do agree that it probably is OCD related since we can't stop this behaviour. I have never seen a therapist but i have read about OCD before after realising that some of the stuff i do aren't exactly normal. 
With the same characters! I've done this all of my life- ever since I played with Barbies as a little girl, but it wasn't normal play. I'd act out scenarios after the dolls were put away. I also made up imaginary families, including an imaginary twin and an aunt and uncle that had twelve kids- still remember all of their names and ages, too...I think I've had major "stages" in the "soap opera". When I was 13, I threw all of my dolls away because I never played with them...except in my head, of course. The last three Barbies I had were a set of triplets that I had created from very similar looking dolls. I cannot tell you how long afterwards I used them! Must have been my junior year of high school (I'm a college freshman)! I was sooo glad when I stopped doing them because they just plain annoyed me in the last few years. I remember when I first got the dolls, named them, and their different personalities. I chose really strange names for them- I guess one of my quirks has always been an abnormal fascination with multiples and unusual names- they all had weird names, but semi-normal nicknames: Lucretia (Libby), Catalina (Cassie), and Quinnette (Quinn). Now, I basically only act out my cartoon characters that I have created long, long ago. I remember when I was seven, I started drawing my own characters, and I have reformed them many, many times since then. Still, two of my five characters are the originals from about nine years old, and their personalities are the same as well. Of course, I have added new people- refined from selecting only my favorites and getting rid of the ones that just plain annoyed me. I decided to make my main girl bipolar when I started getting interested in abnormal psych, but since I knew how infuriating it is to read incorrect stereotypes of OCD (i.e. "they all like to be clean, orderly, and have things a certain way"), I did extensive research on bipolar disorder before I ever decided to do a storyline on it because I wanted to portray it accurately. What really makes me happy now is that I have had her be bipolar I for two years now, and when I wrote a story for my Creative Writing Club last year at school, her manic ramblings I put in turned out to be very, very grammatically similar to a real-life account of a manic woman that I found months afterwards. As strange as it sounds, this makes me happy because I know that I have taken my knowledge and utilized it correctly, rather than stereotypically. What's really creepy is that I've created a cursive handwriting for my girl that isn't like my own script, and I can write using it now without even thinking- at the beginning, I had to actually think up different ways to make the letters and it took me a long time to write something because I had to remember what each letter looked like, but now, if you ask me to write with it, it's as painless as if you asked me to write in my own handwriting. At least now, since I pretty much only act out scenes with my five characters (unless I have to recite lines from movies and TV shows, which also occurs quite frequently), I don't feel like it's nearly as strange anymore. After all, these characters ARE tangible, I can use the ideas for future storylines, and I can practice "being" the character, especially my bipolar girl. She's usually the one I do the most because I do a voice for her, and I love to practice doing my accents so I don't forget how. For her, I wanted a child-like voice, and after two years of perfecting it, I have nailed down a very high-pitched voice that sounds nothing like my own. Probably another reason I loved playing with Barbies- I had other tangible objects to be the personas and I could do my voices. Over the years, I've taught myself to do a New York accent, British accent, Southern (I have two classifications- regular or high-pitched Southern belle), mysterious foreign/Slavic/Russian accent, Valley girl, and, of course, my high-pitched voice. I tend to act out my "soap opera" the most when I'm on the computer and not typing like I am now (just surfing the Internet or playing Solitaire or something), walking by myself, or standing in line. If you really want to know the truth, I think I do it during these situations because my mind isn't occupied, and I try to do something to keep the obsessions away- I've noticed that, since my OCD struck full-force at 12, right when I threw the dolls away, I just increased the amount of time I do it because, for me, an empty mind equals a breeding ground for obsessions. That's pretty much the only useful thing for it besides creativity is that it keeps you occupied- it really does come in handy in amusement park lines, which can be hours long...It is refreshing to see that more and more people are coming forth to say that they experience this, which definitely says that it's a condition of some sort. I think that it's just sooo hard to explain, comprehend, and describe that once you see someone else say it, you know you can relate. Write back soon- it does certainly help to talk to someone! 
