Carlson syndrome

Is the appearance of an imaginary friend a normal variant or a psychological deviation? This psychological phenomenon is called Carlson syndrome.

Imaginary friends for children aged three to five years are an adequate state of mind and a manifestation of the child’s creative imagination, indicating his normal psychological development.

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Causes Carlson syndrome

Psychologists note several of the most common causes of the development of Carlson's syndrome:

1. Lack of impressions.
2. Lack of communication, feeling of loneliness.
3. Feeling of insecurity.
4. Increased guardianship. Lack of opportunity to express oneself and express one's opinion.
5. Feeling of guilt. The desire to escape from an unpleasant reality, a person creates his own world with an imaginary friend, whom he protects from the outside world.
6. Increased strictness. The child lives as if in the army.

Adults with Carlson syndrome are called "kidults" in medicine. Most kidults are men. The main reason for the appearance of Carlson syndrome is the fear of official relationships, the desire to protect oneself from encroachment on personal space and freedom, the unwillingness to take responsibility for someone else's life (people - kidults often do not have children).

Later, the psyche of a child or an adult blocks the real perception of the world, creating its own ideal world with imaginary characters. This could be a living toy or an invisible virtual friend.

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Symptoms Carlson syndrome

Symptoms that should alert you and force you to seek advice from a specialist are the child’s constant stories about a fictitious character, a world in which he feels calm and comfortable.

For an adult, symptoms of Carlson syndrome may include:

• childish carelessness,
• refusal to perceive reality,
• shifting worries and responsibilities onto loved ones,
• life in your own reality.

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Diagnostics Carlson syndrome

In most cases, this problem disappears in children between the ages of 7 and 9. If a child continues to communicate with an imaginary friend at the age of ten, then it is necessary to consult a specialist. The only diagnostic of Carlson's syndrome is a consultation with a doctor - psychologist.

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Treatment Carlson syndrome

When diagnosing Carlson syndrome, treatment is, first of all, recommendations to parents to change their attitude towards the child.

If the reason for escaping reality is a lack of attention, parents need to review their daily schedule and spend more time with their baby, taking an interest in his problems, and rejoicing in his achievements.

If there is a lack of communication, it may be enough to enroll the child in a children's sports section or clubs. In the company of peers, the child can open up, and the problem will be solved.

If you are overly strict or overprotective, you should give your child more freedom of choice. You can make your child responsible for, for example, walking the dog, cleaning his room... This will help raise the child's status, allow him to understand his importance.

The reason for the appearance of an invisible friend is the feeling of guilt that the child experiences. Adults do not even realize how often this feeling visits children. They blame themselves, for example, for frequent quarrels and divorce of their parents: "It's because of me, because I am so naughty, I study poorly, I did not live up to my parents' expectations." The child can complain to an imaginary friend about injustice, whitewashing himself: "I am good! It is not my fault!" or shifting the blame to the virtual friend. In such a situation, you should establish a trusting relationship with the child and explain to him that it is not his fault that his parents broke up, that he is needed and loved by both parents.

If a child feels unprotected (his peers or adults bully him), he tries to invent a protector for himself. For example, Superman or Spider-Man can play this role. In such a situation, the main task of adults is to do everything so that the child gains confidence in himself and his abilities, and feels parental support.

Monotonous life, always busy parents, the reason for Carlson's syndrome is a lack of impressions and the child strives, by connecting his imagination, to compensate for this with an imaginary world that is interesting to him, where there are many friends and games. In such a situation, psychologists recommend spending more time with the baby in nature, visiting exhibitions, sports competitions, organizing a family trip to the cinema or a theme party for his birthday. Here it is already necessary to "turn on" the imagination of adults.

In some cases, psychologists advise to slightly play along with the child (but you shouldn’t overdo it either): get to know his friend, ask about the character of the virtual character. Quite often, children project their desires and dreams, endowing the fictional character with characteristics that they themselves lack. Having learned what character traits the child has endowed the friend with, you can understand how he wants to see himself, what he lacks in order to live comfortably in the real world.

Psychologists warn parents against a categorical ban on their child mentioning a fictional character, accusing him of lying. The son or daughter will not stop believing in a friend and "communicating" with him, his position in the child's thoughts will only strengthen, and the parents will lose the trust of the child, he will simply withdraw into his cozy little world.

But if the situation has gone too far and the child has stopped separating reality from illusion, he is no longer interested in the world around him, he has poor communication skills, then professional help from a child psychologist is needed.

Prevention

The main and most effective prevention is a warm family atmosphere in the home, love and attention to each other.

If your child has a wild imagination, it’s worth supporting him by directing it towards applied arts: drawing, sculpting, modeling, and so on.

You should pay more attention to your child, be interested in his mood, relationships with peers, his problems and desires. Time spent with your baby will never be superfluous.

If a child dreams of an animal, it is worth allowing him to get a dog, a cat or a turtle. This will allow him to replace a virtual friend with a real one. Such responsibility will raise the child's self-esteem, make him more independent and confident in his abilities.

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Forecast

Carlson's syndrome is more of a social problem than a medical one. Therefore, with more attentive attitude of parents to their children, the prognosis is favorable.

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