Do you have an imaginary friend? (Might be better to read first..)

Okay, father, here is my confession..

I didn't have one as a child. But through my teens, I did. I experienced many traumatic events between the ages of 12 and 20 - for many years over this period, I had an imaginary brother. He would just pop up on bad days and save me from it all. Then I worked through my issues, and forgot he ever existed. At 24, I married who I thought was the love of my life, and became a victim of domestic abuse. A year into marriage, and this imaginary brother just shows up out of nowhere. It made me feel really weird about myself. I did a lot of growing up by then, so I was a bit uncomfortable with it, I guess. He didn't stick around long, I found it too strange and shut it down. What's even weirder is that he wasn't even the same race as me.. 😂 like, did my mum have an imaginary affair, or what?

Since, I've brought this topic up with a number of people, and to my surprise, so many people I spoke to had a go-to person in their mind! One had an imaginary husband, for days her marriage wasn't doing so great. Some people imagined themselves as a whole new person living a completely different life. There are even people who have entire paracosms - a whole imaginary world to escape to.

So, I ask you to share your thoughts about an adult having an imaginary friend.

Do you have an imaginary friend? Is it okay/healthy for an adult to have one? Is it just a coping mechanism? Could it be an indication of mental illness?

Awks if the poll turns out to be 100% no, and I'm just say here with my imaginary brother like.. 😬