Talking To Imaginary People
I have been trying to find articles written by medical/mental health professionals about whether or not it is normal to have conversations with an imaginary other person. Talking to yourself in general is pretty normal:
It’s more common for people to talk to themselves than to not. According to one study, 96% of adults say they have an internal dialogue. While self-talk out loud is less common, 25% of the adults say they do it.
However, most of what I found was about:
Talking to yourself as in giving yourself a pep talk or else negative self-talk, e.g. “You can do this!” or “I can't do this; I'm not good enough.”
Repeating a conversation, “rumination”, which is to re-play in your mind a real conversation you already had.
Neither of these is about talking, either in your head or out loud, to some other imaginary person.
After searching for hours, I have found one medical paper: Imagining the Other: The Influence of Imagined Conversations on the Treatment Process This article describes how some therapists have imaginary conversations with their clients.
On WebMD I found this:
Most people talk to themselves regularly. This may happen when thinking through ideas, when debating decisions, or when in need of a pep talk. Some people feel that self-talk creates a “presence” around them that makes them feel better. This can help with loneliness. [Italics added]
Perhaps the “presence” refers to the type of imaginary conversation I'm referring to.
When I Google “talking to yourself imaginary conversations” I can see in Reddit and Quora that this is indeed common, in the sense that many people do it. There are also some creative types such as writers that say it is normal, even helpful to their craft. It seems to be associated with imagination and / or loneliness.
It is normal to create imaginary conversations. It is a common creative activity that can help with problem-solving and decision-making, as well as providing an outlet for self-expression.
And another article on Medium:
Imaginary Conversations As a Way To Share Ideas
Since there are a lot of people who do have conversations with an imaginary listener, I'm surprised the medical profession hasn't written more about it.
I was going to write about my own imaginary conversations, but this post is long enough, so I already know what I'll write about next time!
P.S. I just found this article, I'm Middle Aged, and I Talk to Myself All Day, at the New York Times, but I'm not going to pay to read it.