Questions. Imagination and escaping into your own world

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I'm an INFP.

Also in my worlds there is a chronological time, but there are characters and stories of different eras developing themselves at the same time. This is cool because despite history being more or less definite past and future are happening at the same time (there is not only past and future but those are relative because of lots of eras) so they are like a never ending rope that changes itself and make those time-space connections of choices and characters acts.
really really cool. And they can't do it in movies or books or anything.

I am too

Bosses don't like dreamers.

I'm INFP as well!
So it's more of an INFP thing than an Aspie thing? Or maybe it's because of a combination of the two?

All your worlds sound so much more complex and real than mine! Mine needs some serious improvements before I make a book out of it...

true. one of the reasons the psychologist treat it as confidential information but you can always be a writer (or editor, librarian etc)

writing is definitely my thing.

My imaginary world was my special interest in elementary and middle school and some of high school. I'd call it my "pretend world" and playing "the game". I'd play this game most of the day during school, in class and at recess and at home during my free time and at play therapy and anywhere else I was taken as well as at night in bed for hours before going to sleep. I'd twirl a string in front of my face constantly while in pretend world and sometimes walk in circles. Sometimes I'd talk to myself or make noises while playing.*The stimming I stopped doing in public and during class after elementary school though. No one thought I had MPD or psychosis probably because I called it my pretend world and knew the difference between real and pretend. The problem was just that I always wanted to play pretend and wasn't interested in most other things kids my age were and wasn't doing my school work because I was always in my pretend world and twirling an object (sometimes a string or the tapered end of a piece of paper) in front of my eyes. Yes, I was a character in my world. Most of the time my character was a character in a story or book series that I read like the Babysitter's Club and I was one of the characters in the series. Sometimes I'd replay events that happened on the playground and pretend to be one of the other kids (one of the popular ones bullying me). As I got older I became interested in reading fantasy novels and I've made-up characters based on the worlds described in the series' but I'll only spend a couple hours a day in the worlds or even less time. Sometimes I don't have an imaginary world at all for a period of time. I spend more time reading and sometimes I'll write a scene out that takes place in my worlds. I don't usually share this with people nowadays. My latest world is a mixture of the Wheel of Time and Harry Potter worlds. Nowadays I'm more creative and will mix two fantasy worlds together but as a child it would just be the world described in one series. It has the laws and rules associated with magic that are described in the series' and follows the physical laws of the universe only to the extent that they're followed in the series'.

I've always had the one world, but it changes a lot. After hearing about your world, and all the others on this thread, I wish that mine was a bit more impressive!
Mine has basically no rules... It's so disorganized, and all of the weapons are completely OP. but trying to make it more like other people's worlds has kind of left it in chaos.

I've always played as the one character- Whisper, but have had a few name changes over the time I've been in the world. First I was my real name, then Whisperwhisker when I was obsessed with the Warrior Cats series. Now I play as Whisper, because Whisperwhisker was way to long to stick with using.

Lately I haven't been doing as much dreaming, I've just been following the storyline of some characters, slipping in between both points of view.

I daydream (or "night dream") a lot and, oddly enough, it doesn't get in the way of things I need to do in the "Real World"; when I am fully occupied, my attention is taken by whatever I am actually doing. It tends to occur when I need to plan something or when I am bored from doing something physical that needs little conscious thought.

I spend a lot of time walking; it gets me physically active and keeps me fit; however, on some days there is nothing interesting to see and my mind wanders; in such cases, I find myself imagining what things would be like if life was better:

• If I had a good job that made use of my skills.
• If I hadn't been born disabled (or had managed to get away with it) and had a normal life with the things other people appear to take for granted.
• If there was a special person in my life to whom to give all the feelings/affection/love that I have to give, who shared many of my moral values/special interests and who wanted the same things from me.

In other cases, I find it useful in planning various challenges that either keep occurring in my life or that I wish to undertake. By running the same simulation many times with slightly different outcomes at various points, I have been able to understand things that I did not before, things making sense that didn't; this has happened a lot recently.

So I guess my fantasy world is a "corrected" real world; and I have long held the belief that paradise wouldn't be some religious stereotype of heaven.

It would this world all over again with the proviso that life is fair.

Reading your post was like looking into my own head. I have several characters. One in particular is very special to me and I use a drawing of her as the avatar on this very forum. I matured very very slowly. When I started highschool I couldn't understand why nobody played with toys anymore. I quit playing only to begin again once I moved out in my 20s. I finally completely stopped at age 25 but I still have the occasional urge to do it again. For that reason, my favorite character that reresents myself is a child. That being, I created my own worlds too. I used to imagine there was a door in my closet that would lead me to a hallway full of portals. Those portals led to the worlds of my characters. I still dream about it sometimes. I always felt like an alien or something because of my overly vivid imagination. Now to answer you questions:

would you describe it as being "your other world" that you escape to?

Yes. I spend many nights and daydreams living it.

-Are there people in the world?

People, talking animals, fairies, pretty much anything my imagination puts there.

-If there are people, have you developed them to have separate characteristics from yourself?

A couple, but most of them are different versions of me.

-What point of view do you see the world? are you seeing it from the characters point of view OR watching over the characters.

Both. It kind of depends. I see myself as Sashiku most of the time, and I kinda see things through her eyes, but I like to take a step back and watch them sometimes.

-Do your worlds follow the same laws of nature/physics etc. as earth?

Nope. I.... really like pastel colors like pink and purple. So naturally, THe sky is blue, the grass is dark purple, Trees are purple with variations of leaves and flowers. Gravity is a little less, allowing for higher jumps.

-How much time do you spend each day in your other world?

I used to spend every waking moment in it but now I seem to spend a couple hours a day in it.

-Does stimming and movement (ex. pacing around the house) help you to get into the other world?

I like to lay down and close my eyes, or draw pictures of what I see inside.

-If there is more than one character in your world, do you create them to have a wide variety of different personality types?

Sashi is really sweet and full of energy, but tends to get a tad too hyper.
Yuuta is very shy, but very kind hearted and honest.
Vita is strong and speaks her mind freely, unafraid of the concenquences.
Kiri is quiet but she protects and defends her friends no matter what. Her downfall is her tendency to complain about thngs she cannot change.

-If you've told people about it, how do they react?

Never told anyone but my mom. She just says I'm overly creative. hahaha

-If you have not told anyone about it, why not?

I haven't told some people because of fear of judgment. I mean, Nobody else does this right?

-How long have you been in your other world? years, months?

As long as I can remember. I've always played alone in my room with my worlds and my characters. This is what inspired me to become an artist.

-Do you have more than one other world?

I have two. One is Sashis world. She lives happily there with her family and many other children.

The second is where my adult characters live, I'm not sure why I separate them, I suppose I don't much care for being an adult, though I do my best to be responsible and mature.

Welcome to the thread, Sashiku! I'd draw pictures of my characters too, if I could draw them properly!

IKnowWhoIamNow, that's a really interesting belief. I've never thought of heaven that way.

Your post seemed very familiar to me. I, too, have my own 'world', which I inhabit for as much time as possible. I find that spending time there helps with stress, anxiety etc. I am very glad I found this thread because I always thought it was just me and I was being strange or childish, but now know there are others.
My world evolves and adapts over time, with places, things, technologies taking on different appearances. It is inspired by the books I read, and is largely themed around my special interest at the time e.g. I am currently obsessed with politics, so now I spend a lot of time thinking of the social orders and systems of government in my fictional regions. I use my world to develop my ideas about life, the universe and everything.

-would you describe it as being "your other world" that you escape to?
No, not really, it's just existed as well as reality for as long as I can remember. I often incorporate features from the real world into it.

-Are there people in the world?
There is, across numerous planets, an overall population of 360 billion, out of whom I have 6 friends, 5 enemies and a dozen or so acquaintances and colleagues.

-If there are people, have you developed them to have separate characteristics from yourself?
Yes, there are many nonhumans (extraterrestrials, for example), and a great variety of personality types, from a greedy humanoid businessman to an altruistic computer. Most of them share my interests, so I can talk to them for ages, as a way to come up with ideas and keep me entertained (this is a very effective way to brainstorm).

-Do you make yourself as a character in the other world?
I am one character, whose role changes over time (e.g. my character is now a revolutionary leader, and 3 years ago was a starship captain).
-What point of view do you see the world? are you seeing it from the characters point of view OR watching over the characters.
I see it as a character.

-If your world does not have people in it, what is in it?
My characters include humans, non-human fantasy life forms such as aliens or orcs, robots, sentient computers and more.
The landscape includes typical geological features like mountains; cities built like spider webs or termite mounds, miles long and miles high; space-based artificial structures the size of worlds; life forms hundreds of kilometers in size; planets, stars, black holes and other astronomical objects.

-Do your worlds follow the same laws of nature/physics etc. as earth?
This depends on circumstance and whether it is convenient - faster-than-light space travel, for example, is possible, and there are forms of "magic", but on the whole the laws of physics are observed.

-How much time do you spend each day in your other world?
About 4 hours on weekdays, but much of the day on weekends, when I will often go for long walks on my own so I can remain in my world undisturbed.

-Does stimming and movement (ex. pacing around the house) help you to get into the other world?
I very often pace and fidget to get into my world, and as mentioned above go walking as well.

-If there is more than one character in your world, do you create them to have a wide variety of different personality types?
Personality types vary as a character develops. A character will be very bland and uninteresting at first, but then over time acquire personality traits, quirks, and a back story.

-If you have come forward to someone about your world, do they often assume it might be a multiple personality disorder?
I have never heard this before, but then again, I don't tell many people about it.

-If you've told people about it, how do they react?
That depends, some seem to think it's a bit weird, but others seem quite accepting of the idea.

-If you have not told anyone about it, why not?
I don't tell people about it because I am worried about how they will react. When I was much younger, I told some of the other kids in my class, which got me picked on.

-How long have you been in your other world? years, months?
I have been inventing different worlds in my head for as long as I can remember, since I was about two or three years old. My main world I use now has been around for about 10 years.

-Do you have more than one other world?
I have one main, most important one which I spend the most time in, which has been around for ages, and a few others which I occasionally visit. Sometimes I make them up on the spot and keep them only for a day or so.

Wow. That's complex.

-would you describe it as being "your other world" that you escape to?
Yes, I would describe what goes on in my head as 'my world' for sure

-Are there people in the world?
Yes, people

-If there are people, have you developed them to have separate characteristics from yourself?
Somewhat, not quite sure how to answer this one

-Do you make yourself as a character in the other world?
Most of 'my alternate world' is 'what if' stories and fantasies about me and my friends, family and co-workers, so yes.

-What point of view do you see the world? are you seeing it from the characters point of view OR watching over the characters.
Changes, can be both

-If your world does not have people in it, what is in it?
Has people
-Do your worlds follow the same laws of nature/physics etc. as earth?
Usually, but sometimes with sci-fi factors

-How much time do you spend each day in your other world?
Depends. If I'm having a busy day (had many where school plus work have added up to well over 12 hours) I can't really afford to get into it. On an off day, I get really into it

-Does stimming and movement (ex. pacing around the house) help you to get into the other world?
Yes

-If there is more than one character in your world, do you create them to have a wide variety of different personality types?
For sure

-If you have come forward to someone about your world, do they often assume it might be a multiple personality disorder?
I haven't

-If you've told people about it, how do they react?
-If you have not told anyone about it, why not?
Fear of judgement

-How long have you been in your other world? years, months?
as long as I can remember

-Do you have more than one other world?
Yes

I've had my "other world" since I was about fifteen I think. I've never been a character, always a spectator, like watching a TV show. At sixteen I started writing some of the plots from my other world down as short stories, and I now have 43 of them and counting. My world is effectively identical to this one... except for the fact that all of the children are Neopets (odd little animal-alien hybrid creatures from the children's game site www.neopets.com), the adults are all human though. My stories revolve around four little boys between the ages of four and ten being raised by a single mother whose husband died in a war (easiest way I could come up with of getting rid of him; I find trying to juggle too many adult characters in a story that focuses on kids too hard). A.K is the protagonist for most of the episodes, though recently his older brother Wendall has been coming more to the forefront. About two years ago I gave A.K a friend with AS named Dibbs, and he has since been mentioned in several episodes and featured as the main character in one of them (Dibbs would love all the avatars here on WP as his special interest is cats .)

I've never told anyone about my stories because the themes are highly personal, and it would be really embarrassing if anyone ever read them. People would probably also think it's weird that I spend so much time writing and imagining stories about characters from a children's game. Often times when I'm in the middle of a good storyline, I don't want to leave it and return to reality; I often find my classes at school to be an interruption to my imagination, because I can't concentrate well enough to keep the story going unless my environment is relatively distraction-free. My favourite time to go to my other world is in bed at night; there are no "real world" obligations, very little light so I don't get visually distracted, and everything is perfectly quiet, I love it.