Imaginary friends are a phenomenon going back thousands of years. Ancient people had their share of imaginary friends, usually in the form of some sort of supernatural entity, like gods and spirits. Today, we see imaginary friends in a much more clinical way.

There tend to be two kinds of imaginary friends: the ones children have, and the ones adults have. Children often have imaginary friends, a totally normal part of the development of the imagination, and some studies suggest that imaginary friends help kids build social and linguistic skills, helping development. Imaginary friends take many forms for children. The imaginary friends adults keep are very different. Adults' imaginary friends, while sometimes a holdover from childhood, are more often than not a form of a clinical problem, or serious issue in life.

Some imaginary friends are idealized versions of the self; a goal to which children aspire. Some are just representations of the kindness children want for themselves, that perhaps they feel is missing from their real-world friends or siblings. Some are essentially alibis who children blame for wrongdoing like breaking household objects or stealing from the cookie jar. What imaginary friends one has and the form they take can be influenced by the people in their lives, and even their birth order, if they have siblings.

Answer some questions for us, and we will guess the name of your imaginary friend!