Schizophrenia and Imitating behavior

Do you know the behavior of imitation?
For example, if I have a friend that I envy or admire, then I imitate him with the actions or things he likes or his hobbies that I suddenly love.
Is this typical of schizophrenia?

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Mmm… I don’t think this was a characteristic of schizophrenia :thinking:

Don’t sound like anything Sz that I’ve ever heard of, although I used to mimic the traits in others that I admired in the hopes it would rub off on me.

i kinda imitate people like if they do something with their hand i do the same thing without knowing most of the time, i read that it is something that people with autism do it could be the same for sz too since they are kind of related

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yeah I think also if you spend a lot of time with someone, you kind of take on each others behaviour and stuff too.

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This is something I did a lot as a kid, imitating everything about a certain person at a time, until I got bored being them and moved onto imitating another person. Then as I grew into puberty I began to visualize/daydream about the person that I wanted to be – someone I wasn’t even remotely like, and often with dark supernatural abilities/features. Unfortunately, I don’t think I ever discovered who I really was, because it was something I constantly avoided. That behavior may even be a contributing factor to what I have now. At the age of 24 I’m still not even sure if I’m “human”.

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Pretty sure everyone does this, hence the saying “imitation is the highest form of flattery”

Unless it’s really extreme or something

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Yeah I used to imitate people, still do.
I think it’s a normal human behavior and like everyone says, it’s a way of showing you admire someone and wish to learn from them.

I hate when people imitate me. Cut their hair like me or dresses like me. Or worse, starts talking like me. I get paranoid and think they are trying to take over my soul.

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No what you’re describing is part of group-psychology, and the formation of ‘groups’, which everyone does.

A good example is two different people traveling to France, and both learn the language. One keeps their british accent, the other picks up a local regional accent. The latter will probably make more friends, or at least have an easier time doing so.

It’s interesting to read about, and it affects more than just imitation, it basically explains all racism ever. It also explains a lot about why I was bullied as a kid, for being ‘different’, even though I had done nothing wrong.

The one thing you said that might be related to schizophrenia is the fact that you are aware of it and questioning it.

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