Is being emotional in your imagination bad for you? ?

Question

Hello!

I'm not depressed or anything but please, don't think this is pointless. I have a question that i've been thinking about for quite some time now...

I'm 16 years old. I like to write (who doesn't?) and I keep getting ideas for stories almost every month and i have to write them down before i forget, you know?

Well... lately, for the past year or two, i've noticed that i might be thinking too much in my imagination. (This happens when i'm bored or would rather do anything than homework or literally have nothing to do.)

Sometimes i laugh at my own stupid jokes that i come up with and other times i smile and actually blush when i think of a cute love scene....

..... But i also cry, and sometimes, i become pissed off. My heart literally starts to hurt ... I mean it. I was scared once that it was going to stay that way until i snapped out of it and reminded myself it wasn't real. This happens especially if i think about loosing a loved one, if i've been betrayed, if someone has backstabbed me, if i've lost myself, if everyone turns on me, if the love of my life doesn't want me anymore, ANYTHING negative i think about, i can FEEL!

... The weird thing is, its all for my characters, not me! I haven't lost anyone yet. I haven't fallen in love. I haven't been betrayed or backstabbed nor even felt close to being heart broken... I don't know what any of that feels like, but sometimes, it hurts... sometimes i 'feel' depressed, but i'm not.

I figured It might be triggered from fears of mine of being rejected or deeply hurt in the future (who isn't?)... but when i write it down its like it doesn't mean anything anymore for the story.

At first I thought that I'm simply just trying to figure out how to write down what my characters are feeling in their world and their surroundings so that it may seem real and clear to a reader. Then i thought that actually feeling what i'm writting is bad for my health. Is it?

Once again, i'm not depressed. I'm not even angry for i live a happy young life and i've NEVER mixed up a dream with reality (like literally)

... But... when i cry, i worry about myself. I'm confused when i think about it.... So is it bad for you, really bad, if you feel hurting emotions through your 'imagination'?

lol i'm not crazy, I KNOW its not real... WHY i think about those things, i don't know. Sometimes i think about some crazy wild and fun adventure that makes me laugh and smile, but it just rolls back to those negative feelings... It does help me write, but it stays with me sometimes. My mom once in a while sees something is wrong and that's when i usually snap out of it. Last thing i need HER to worry about is that I hurt because of my stupid imagination.

So is it bad? What can i do?

Answer 1

So is it bad for you, really bad, if you feel hurting emotions through your 'imagination'?

Actually its not good to be feeling this way because the mind doesnt tell the difference between the actual experience and imagination.  However there are so many authors out there who write large quantities of material and for some of them they too laugh and cry about things.  All you need to do is look up You-Tube with JKRowling and she will tell you that there are times when she laughs or cries about her characters, so it may be normal for a writer.

Answer 2

It sounds like you could become a really good screenwriter. I've got an overactive imagination too and love making up stories. The only time I get emotional is thinking about what has happened to me in the past.

I'm not sure if there's anything wrong with getting overly emotional.

You cry if you watch a sad movie. That's perfectly normal.

Oh yes and I do recall J.K Rowling getting very sad when she had to kill off certain characters.