One thing I want to try is journaling, to start.

Edit: has anyone ever tried to journal but was instinctively unable to write unrestricted? I think I just need to push through this feeling.

Maybe creating art in some form can be a way of processing?

Consume art. It helps a lot to read/watch/hear some content that is similar to your experience and resonates with you. Helps to know that you're not alone and others have experienced/reflected/studied these experiences before. Reading philosophy helps me as well. Might not talk exactly about my situation, but gives the tools and processes to help me think through my issues.

You would think that in this age of instant, free, accessible communication; finding someone to share with would not be difficult. But somehow people care about each other's problems less than ever. I've never found any Lemmy social group that connects people.

If you say that personal anecdotes are welcome and you seek emotional self-reliance, I have something to share I guess.

Adults can have immersive imaginary companions in a similar way that children sometimes do.

If you spend time on interacting with an imaginary character, two qualities can emerge from this:

• you learn how to think from perspective of this character without putting effort into that. This makes the experience of imaginary companions "talking back" to people.
• you cultivate a relationship with that character that's like relationship with other people.

There are some internet communities practicing it. You might have heard about tulpas, soulbonds or daemons. Some kids and some writers experience it too, some scientific research mentions "illusion of independent agency".

I have been practicing it myself for over a decade and can say that I believe that it had a positive impact overall and only positive impact after I unlearned popular tulpamancy and started approaching my inner relationships with more dialectical-materialist mindset.

I personally feel like it can't be done in a healthy way. It'll probably be manageable, but I personally think humans are so social that "healthy" is only possible if one is able to share their experience.