<p>If a person were to experience some kind of mental trauma, could their brain unconsciously create a friend that only they could hear, see and physically feel, to help them cope?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-02T22:20:54.397Z
Welcome to Psychology.SE. Are you trying to link all imaginary friends to some kind of psychosis or only certain kinds of imagination? What have you read to suggest any kind of imaginary friend could be a psychotic manifestation?
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-02T23:17:41.157Z
@ChrisRogers No, it's just an idea for a story. I want to know if it's plausible.
Crimson Bloom
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-03T01:04:39.070Z
Probably not - see: [The interactions between hallucinations and reality in people with schizophrenia](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/18993/7001)
Arnon Weinberg
<hallucinations><psychosis><trauma>
Can a person have a imaginary friend as some kind of hallucination or pychosis?
Crimson Bloom
# Can a person have a imaginary friend as some kind of hallucination or pychosis?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-04-02)

If a person were to experience some kind of mental trauma, could their brain unconsciously create a friend that only they could hear, see and physically feel, to help them cope?

**Tags:** hallucinations, psychosis, trauma

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to Psychology.SE. Are you trying to link all imaginary friends to some kind of psychosis or only certain kinds of imagination? What have you read to suggest any kind of imaginary friend could be a psychotic manifestation?  
> **username_0**: @ChrisRogers No, it's just an idea for a story. I want to know if it's plausible.  
> **username_2**: Probably not - see: [The interactions between hallucinations and reality in people with schizophrenia](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/18993/7001)  

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## 0 answers

