imaginary playmates and punishment?

Question: When I was a little girl, I had four imaginary playmates who were all animals with their own made-up names. My mother, who was not very nurturing, and my much older sister, would threaten to do bad things to them if I mentioned them. They thought something was wrong with me for seeing playmates who were not there. For example, they would throw them out of moving car windows, and I could "see" them flying out and getting hurt. I would scream and cry if they "hurt" them. They thought this was great fun. I am in my 40's now, but all of my life it has bothered me. I have sort of felt like I have been mourning these imaginary creatures ever since. Was this some bizarre form of emotional abuse, and how do I get rid of this sad feeling I still have?

Answers:
That is horrible! It is a form of emotional abuse and if I were in your position, i would find it very difficult to have a close relationship with either of them.
I work in a day care and there are many little ones whom I love dearly. One little girl has developed imaginary friends that she plays with at home. They are all named after people who work here. Some of us boast that we made the cut. When my little friend goes home and plays in her room, her imagination brings me there with her and i find that to be adorable.
When I was little I had imaginary friends too. My family made fun of me for them but, for the most part, respected that I had them.
Threatening to violently rid your imaginary friends from your life is cruel. After reading what you wrote, I am very upset with your mother and sister and I am wishing them similar fates as those wished upon your "friends"

Other Answers:
see a counselor.

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I had an imaginary friend when I was little. My Grandpa accidentally drank him. He thought I was handing him a "pretend" milkshake (I use to pretend alot in my head..ha) anyway when I gave my Grandpa my friends hand to hold he took it and pretended to drink. I cried and cried.. I don't think of it much now but I am a very creative person and have been told I "think outside the box". I bet you are too.. that is one positive side to having such a wild imagination as children. You have a created a kind of Delusion and had live with that characters assuming its real. Its completly curable through self help. Dr.John Forbes Nash was a great Economist, he had a simialr problems.he got cured and went on to win the Nobel Price for Economics..his life history was pictured in movie called "The Beautiful Mind" played by Rusell crow.. Watch the movie.follow your patterns of thought..Phsycolgoist will brand such kind of illnes as dellsuion or Sezhnophrenia


You can really get rid of it easily.. read lot of self help books and keep yourself engaged in some kind of work never attend or pay attention to the dellusionary thoughts.

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Oh you mean playmates like a child's imaginary playmates. Sorry, I thought you meant playmates as in Playboy playmates. As for me, I have imaginary Playboy playmates all the time. So I guess I kinda understand you. But seriously, I think it's weird that you feel that way towards your imaginary friends. I guess it would really affect you as a child if someone or something you believe in is crushed like that. Just forget about it and let your imaginary friends be at peace or better yet go see your shrink. I don't really know what you can do for them. You could, if you felt that they were real, give them a sorta funeral like thing. That way you can get over them.

I know what you mean about the playmates though. I had a friend that even to this day I swear was real. But my mother and siblings tease me about it. Of course this friend was a ghost. I still see things.so maybe he was real.

Good luck

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