Questions. Imagination and escaping into your own world

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I can't believe that there are so many people with worlds here. And they're all different, too. Bump!

-would you describe it as being "your other world" that you escape to?
No, I don't think about it that way
-Are there people in the world?
Yes, in one there are alot and in the other there are only a few.
-If there are people, have you developed them to have separate characteristics from yourself?
In the one with not many people they are developed with separate characteristics.
-Do you make yourself as a character in the other world?
Yes, I do.
-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 first person and sort of third person.
-If your world does not have people in it, what is in it?
N/A
-Do your worlds follow the same laws of nature/physics etc. as earth?
One of the worlds is more fantasy type.
-How much time do you spend each day in your other world?
Not much time these days.
-Does stimming and movement (ex. pacing around the house) help you to get into the other world?
No
-If there is more than one character in your world, do you create them to have a wide variety of different personality types?
Never thought about it.
-If you have come forward to someone about your world, do they often assume it might be a multiple personality disorder?
I've NEVER told anyone about my worlds before now.
-If you've told people about it, how do they react?
N/A
-If you have not told anyone about it, why not?
No idea.
-How long have you been in your other world? years, months?
Since teen years but not so much recently since I dont have much time.
-Do you have more than one other world?
Two worlds

A bit late but why not!


would you describe it as being "your other world" that you escape to?
No
-Are there people in the world?
Millions
-If there are people, have you developed them to have separate characteristics from yourself?
No
-Do you make yourself as a character in the other world?
No
-What point of view do you see the world? are you seeing it from the characters point of view OR watching over the characters.
Watching over the characters (Population of a country).
-If your world does not have people in it, what is in it?
It's a square country in the indian ocean, sometimes in the Atlantic. The central consists of mostly flat plains, east is a bit more topographic, still mostly flat. The west has mountains and a more medditerranean climate.
-Do your worlds follow the same laws of nature/physics etc. as earth?
I strictly follow them.
-How much time do you spend each day in your other world?
I used to do it almost all day in school, which resulted in not listening and getting behind. I still do it during classes (HS) but I've been trying to listen a bit more.
-Does stimming and movement (ex. pacing around the house) help you to get into the other world?
Certainly. Pacing. I have to be holding something. I like to go in my rocking chair and rock in it while I escape to the world. Knee bobbing.. and i'm sure a few more i'm not aware of.
-If there is more than one character in your world, do you create them to have a wide variety of different personality types?
There are millions as it is an independent island country. The langauge sounds sort of Russian.
-If you have come forward to someone about your world, do they often assume it might be a multiple personality disorder?
Never
-If you've told people about it, how do they react?
Used to have another country with consisted of districts and told everyone about it, and tried to convince them it was real. (I was young so they didn't react except engage and laugh). No one knows about it this one now (Teens).
-If you have not told anyone about it, why not?
People would consider it silly and a waste of time, which obviously I do not think so.
-How long have you been in your other world? years, months?
I've had 2 dynamic worlds so I would jumble them together.. Years and years since I was 7 or 8. The new one only started recently, at the most a year 1/2.
-Do you have more than one other world?
I also have a planet I like to daydream about occasionally. But I tend to focus on only one.

I also used to pretend I was an older brother of mine and I would hang out with myself.. LOL.

Previous post- Do you have any particular characters that you follow, or is it the country as a whole?

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

I suppose that it is something I "escape" to occasionally.. however, it is usually just something that monopolizes most of my time and distracts me. It is nice in the sense that as a kid (or now) I was never bored/I could go through out the day without TV or a gameboy, but it also has kept me from things that I needed to do (like school or homework, or chores) and things that I have wanted to do.
I don't know how to say this with out sounding crazy... so here it goes:
every once in a while I get so caught up in one of my "worlds" that I will refuse to go out or cancel plans so that I have more time to completely immerse myself in thought; usually the worlds can just be a background thing or a fun thing when I have nothing better to do, but sometimes they need more time or time JUST for them, time where I can just sit down and do nothing, or maybe draw or have music on, and just think about them.. (usually only need that kind of time if there is a problem or a conflict, or maybe a major "plot change" that I have to think through..)

I think of it less as "imaginary worlds", and more like I am a film director.. I will imagine whatever scene is going on and I will keep on re-thinking it over and over again until I am 100% happy with the outcome, what people have said to each other, how things played out, etc. then once I am happy I will go on to think of the next thing to happen. I will also go through all of my scenes like watching a movie.
(hey, maybe I should go into film!?)

-Are there people in the world?

absolutely! all kinds of people.

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

yes. I don't think that I have ever had people in my worlds with characteristics like me (not even *me* in my own worlds.. until recently)

-Do you make yourself as a character in the other world?

yes. I only have, in my lifetime, made 2 worlds where I was not a character; in one I was kind of a narrator, the other was basically like playing Sims... those worlds didn't last long, it just didn't feel right, and they didn't keep my attention.

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

usually from the characters point of view. watching over the characters loses my interest.

-If your world does not have people in it, what is in it?

n/a?

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

yes. however, I am very fond of fire, and in one world (a recent one) people can breathe/eat fire. pretty much just like a circus performer, just in this world you don't need to have a flammable liquid handy to do so. (and not everyone can do it, it is about 50/50 on who can and can't)

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

far too much, I think.. I will cancel plans just so I can stay home and think more about the worlds. however, they can usually just be a background thing while I am doing something else.

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

I like pacing, I don't realize it until someone points it out, but apparently when I start getting really into whatever I am thinking about while pacing I will also swing/widdle/shake my hands all around by my sides.. My favorite it to go to the park and go on the swings, and listen to my ipod/music. (but the only down side is that parents give me dirty looks or will flat out insul me for going on the swings, and usually I go on the swings too long since I get wrapped up in my thoughts, and will get blisters and raw spots where the swing seat rubs my legs)

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

I am embarrassed to say, but usually my worlds end up about me being the hero in some way, or with being able to interact with the cast of my favorite movie or show at the time(or a combination of both!! kind of like walter mitty). some worlds are just me being someone that I am not, or someone else/who I wish to be. some are just being part of a normal family(my family is normal, I mean that I would be the one married/having my own family...).

-If you have come forward to someone about your world, do they often assume it might be a multiple personality disorder?

I have never completely come forward.. I have metioned that I "daydream" a lot, or that I go into "my own little world", but can't find the words to describe how this is different or more intense than just your average daydreaming.

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

I haven't really, I try describing it and all I get is "oh yeah, I like to daydream sometimes, too..."

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

when I didn't it was because I am embarrassed, and can't find the right words. When I have I don't describe it right.

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

Since about preschool age I guess, but it really started in about 1st-2nd grade when the kids really start to notice that you are not quite the same as the other kids. I had more time to my self and had a lack of friends so I imagined new ones... sort of a defence mechanism I suppose?

-Do you have more than one other world?

Yes. Over the years I have had hundreds. but currently 6-7. the 7th one is almost "done", and then I can move on and start another. (once I start to get bored and have thought up all the possible things that could happen, I usually put the "finishing touches" on it, and then leave it and move on to a new one. sometimes I will look back on it and play through it again, sometimes, years later I will pick up on that same world again.. like I am making a sequel..) but some are long going and don't ever end.

Thanks for posting this, OP. You've described how I managed to survive childhood for 10 years without feeling severely depressed (that only came in adolescence).

-would you describe it as being "your other world" that you escape to?
Unfortunately, the "other world" was more interesting to me than my real world. I probably thought more of it than the real world, which was boring and stupid. I had a few worlds, by the way.

-Are there people in the world?
Of course. What world would be interesting without people? Besides, one of those worlds was based on children's books.

-If there are people, have you developed them to have separate characteristics from yourself?
Yes and no. Some share similar characteristics with me, some are totally different.

-Do you make yourself as a character in the other world?
No. I totally suck at communication, I can't even imagine myself interacting with my own characters. Sucky, isn't it? Besides, I want to get away from myself.

-What point of view do you see the world? are you seeing it from the characters point of view OR watching over the characters.
A bit of both. I watch all the characters, and plan what they think and feel, but the main characters feelings are in greater detail. Interestingly, though I found it hard to guess what people thought, I could somehow invent ideologies for my characters that initially I felt nothing for, but as time went on, I found myself sympathising with the character's ideals.

-Do your worlds follow the same laws of nature/physics etc. as earth?
Two of them did; two didn't.

-How much time do you spend each day in your other world?
Much less now, though surprisingly it hasn't decreased my empathy for the characters. Quality over quantity.

I now realise that the virtual worlds in my head aren't the only worlds I live in. I love to read biographies of 19th-century poets and the sentiments of that time (I get excited over movements of that time more than of my own era), you could almost call it another world.

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

-If there is more than one character in your world, do you create them to have a wide variety of different personality types?
Detailed character creation is fairly new to me. I do make up a variety of personalities, but the main characters tend to be introverted. I have extroverted characters but they're not as dear to me.

-If you have come forward to someone about your world, do they often assume it might be a multiple personality disorder?
Not that I am aware of. I am very much aware that I am living in this world. Friends are amused by my Victorianism, however.

-If you've told people about it, how do they react?
They are amused. But as I am a bookworm and love making up stories, they don't think it's deviant or anything.

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

-Do you have more than one other world?
Yes. See answers above.

Villette- Do you think that other people would be able to do this and keep out of depression in the same way?

TyrannosaurusAsh- If I could get away with staying home from school, sometimes I would do the same thing!

It is fascinating to read this thread and to be honest, quite liberatory. This is something I have done all my life and still do to help me drop off to sleep after a difficult day. I have a number of scenarios that I drop in and out of with different people in each. They are more than just characters to me, very much like real people - only I do know they are all figments of my imagination. I have always been embarrassed by them to tell the truth, but they help me navigate the day and the world so I won't stop going there any time soon. They soothe me.

We know that it isn't real, and that's what keeps them from diagnosing us as completely out of our minds. They'll still try though. It really annoys me that they would want to do that, when the dream does nothing but help- usually!

Hi Carbon 4. I feel like this post is very similar to one I've read before. Was that you a couple of years back also talking about this, maybe with a different user name? It could have been someone else though just with a similar experience. Since my teens I've been working on just one fantasy world with its own history, races and cultures etc. I'd been working on a novel but kind of stopped any real progress with it in 2009 I guess. I don't bring that fantasy world into this one and I barely ever think about/transport myself to that one from this reality any more. Maybe there's something about the spectrum and fantasy world building which is odd because usually autism is supposed to be marked by a poor imagination.

Unwritten rules suck. I wish they would just write them down so that they would make more sense, lol.

Bump

All of these posts reminds me about what C.S Lewis said in Mere Christianity, he was talking about a person's inherent desire of something that can't be had in this world, which makes the idea of heaven in Christianity so appealing, here let me find it --

Sounds interesting. I'll have a look at it,thanks.

Hey Guys, I'm new to this board, and I honestly don't know if I have aspergers or not. The idea was suggested by guidance counselor, of course she could not say for sure since she is only a guidance counselor. While I'm still not sure myself, this has really gave light on what my issue might be. Just background on me, I've been dealing with alot of stress in my life (i.e. "Minor" Depression and trying to not develop low-self esteem, my Depressive, manipulative, Self-Deprecatory friend, my slight emotional dependency, etc.) and I honestly had no idea as to what my problem really is. However, after heavily relating to what was questioned here, I think this has given me new hope as to whether or not aspergers is my issue/condition...if it even is an issue! .

But nevertheless, to put in my own two cents...

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


Absolutely. I tend to escape to it when I'm not doing much else. As in when I'm in my bed about to fall asleep, in public transportation, in some boring class, etc. Specifically, when I was a little, I had very little friends, cried often, has self-control issues, and was bullied frequently. As such, this was the age when I first created my "world," and I guess you could say that I used it as an escape. However, I simply escape to it whenever I feel like it. You could argue I'm addicted to it--but I'm

-Are there people in the world?
Yes, but for my main world, they are fictional. In the others, they are.

-If there are people, have you developed them to have separate characteristics from yourself?
I'm not sure. I will say there are characters that are based off me, and have my characteristics. Heck, there's one character in one my worlds that is modeled right after me. However, if the question is that all of the people in my worlds are modeled after my characteristics...no. Only a few.

-Do you make yourself as a character in the other world?
There is one world where I am apart of it, but there are drastic differences [I am older, went through some freak accident that changed my appearance completely, I am older, etc.] But usually, I'm not a character myself, at all.

-What point of view do you see the world? are you seeing it from the characters point of view OR watching over the characters.
Watching over them, usually, as if I'm watching a T.V. show.

-If your world does not have people in it, what is in it?
Again my main world has fictional characters

-Do your worlds follow the same laws of nature/physics etc. as earth?
In my main world, for the most part, yes. There are some fictional elements in the physics of course, but when powers/abilities aren't concerned, yes. For some of the worlds, they happen here on Earth, and the characters are hypothetical real people. But for some of the others, it really depends.
But generally, yes, they do.

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

It depends greatly. Now, I will say it is relatively rare that I actually spend time to be in my worlds specfically. Usually what happens though is that, if I can, I walk around because it helps me get into my world, or I just get into it, like if I'm in a classroom.
Since I'm talking about it though, I will say that at least in the classroom, I imagine my worlds ALOT, and I will say it can disrupt my listening in the class. That said though, I am very proficient academically, so it doesn't disrupt the learning process much, if at all. In fact, I find my worlds to be a blessing
But to answer your questions....5-8 hours in total, but again I really have NO idea.


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

OMAGERD YES. Not just pacing though--sometimes actually jumping around and making noises also helps. ESPECIALLY when I'm listening to music. Now, when, I do these things, I wouldn't say I realize I do them completely--since I'm lost in my imagination, of course. However, I will way this has caused the most commotion of all the things my worlds have caused. My Mother and Sister have often questioned why I do this, and while I have tried to explain this, either I try to BS my way through the convo or just explain it very scarcely. I will say I do tend to do this when I'm eating on my own...so my mom thinks that I've gone insane, and that I don't even realize that I do this. Truth of the matter is that I do realize I do this...but that's what she says. I mean she doesn't think I'm crazy, but she shouldn't want other people to say I am, so she is just trying to protect me, which I appreciate.
I will say this has made me infamous in my family for how much I move on a bed.
Also, funny things tend to happen in my worlds, so I often laugh out of nowhere occasionally...so yeah.
-If there is more than one character in your world, do you create them to have a wide variety of different personality types?

Yeah. You could say I make a story with my worlds, so personalities vary.

-If you have come forward to someone about your world, do they often assume it might be a multiple personality disorder?

No...heck they probably don't even understand it themselves. Again, I have trouble explaining this to people, so they just think it something I have--not really a disorder. Funny, when I was little I wanted to design a machine so that I could get my worlds and publish their stories. I even went as far as to explain this to the former Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez, when I met him on a trip as part of being a merit student for a program here in New York. My mom wasn't so happy with me doing though : /

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

Again, I've explained it scarcely when I have done so...so the usually react so that they say "Oh. That's cool." I have told this to my family members, technically the [Former] President of the Dominican republic, my teacher and in turn my class(They didn't get it at ALL--I actually regret telling them...) and one of my best friends.
Interesting list of people...


-How long have you been in your other world? years, months?
Ever since I was little. I'm 17 now, so.... About 14-15 yearsish

-Do you have more than one other world?
Yep. And to elaborate since I want to explain this...I'm actually a very avid gamer! As in, I love video games, played them since I was little. Many of my worlds are actually a result of me getting immersed in worlds some of my games give. So for example, let's say this massive RPG has a cast of a characters moving along the adventure. I would have mental world where I would sort of imagine them doing just that...but of course, with them interacting beyond the game. IN addition, sometimes i just fantasized about gameplay for the games I play, and there's even some game that I have fantasized about for years...ones I invented for years.

These games are based of the my main world, my fictional world. This world is sort of a collection of some of my childhood cartoon characters, characters from games I have played, and some characters I have made my own. IN this world, the characters go on what you could say are epic adventures--it's...kinda modeled like an anime actually, to be completely honest . That said, throughtout my life I have developed this world, and its sort of cultivated into a very elaborate story/creation.

That said, some of my worlds based on the real world include...

-A world where I witness the events of a youtuber gamer and his friends and family (through videos he makes)

-A world where I have actually changed significantly in terms of my appearance (some freak accident) and I am a famous game developer. [Major is actually undecided at this point so...yeah! )

-A world where I witness a comic that is sort of a memoir of my life events. This one though is often gone to when I'm depressed.


Also, just a little side note, but what happens in these worlds can get affect by my mood. So for example, if I'm depressed, I would imagine a character of mines going through a very tough time. If I have some sexual tension in me, I may imagine the characters doing some...sexual things, so then my worlds become my own personal porn, as weird as that sounds...

But there ya have it. Sorry if this dragged--I just had alot to say once I finally discovered that I had this, and that I probably have aspergers.

Also...Can someone explain to me how this relates to aspergers? Next week I'll be taking counseling, so I think info on this would help the diagnostics process.

Oh, and apologies if there are any grammar errors--I'm prone to those.

Thanks alot for this guys, and thanks for reading!