BJDs as therapy...

A friend of mine gave me an advice to put into photostories with my boys all things I cannot say IRL.

In addition, the dolls are a real constant in relationships that we don't have with human beiings..

 

Yes, I think dolls can be good therapy. I originally got into doll collecting during a very stressful time in my life when my Dad suffered permanent brain damage, I was also pregnant with my first child at the time. I've been collecting dolls ever since and find it a calming hobby for me.

 

Your problem doesn't sound whiny or stupid at all. This thread is about dolls being therapeutic, no matter what it is they're helping you through. I'm glad that they're making you feel better. While I didn't buy a doll at the time, I did think more about getting a boy doll after a bad breakup. I think you make a good point, our dolls are friends that won't hurt us. Unless they headbutt us, of course.

 

OMG haha, mine's headbutted me way too many times XD Sorry... I just had to comment because your reply made me smile ^^

 

I don't want to get all gooey and I'm not asking for sympathy, but a lot of things have been going wrong lately and it seems the only thing that makes me happy is the thought getting August soon. I've recently found myself pulling on my hair and my friend and I are fairly sure I'm getting Trichotillomania (the strong urge to pull ones hair out). I've researched and people who do this often try to occupy their hands with silly-putty or the like. I had been using a smooth rock to run my thumb over, but I recently dropped it and it broke.

Back on the subject, I'm fairly sure that August will be my new object to distract my hands when he gets here. Whenever I'm sitting there and I find myself pulling, all I'll have to do is reach over and hold him in my left hand since that's the one I pull with. I found myself doing this in school too, so if he really becomes any help, I'll probably end up taking him to school this coming senior year. But to me, it's more of a health/therapy reason to take him than a reason to just have people stare at me. If I didn't have this issue, I wouldn't really consider taking him there.
I'm not too concerned about people grabbing him. People at my school are immature, yes, but not enough to just reach over and grab something sitting in my lap. But I wouldn't have him out of my sight or even out of my arms even when he's in his case.

But in the end, yes, I do believe that dolls can be therapeutic in many different ways.

 

I think that anything that's important to you or you like doing can cheer you up. That will defiently be me when I get Ollie!

 

One of the reasons I got into dolls was because no one at my old school really liked me and I started getting into drepression my self. But I take my dolls to contuling. And like what you said.... My characr's are really simler to me... Even tho I try to make then as differant as posible.

EDIT: My uncle says that its good for me to have these because people like to make me do things that riun life for me... And having characters and making them do what I want helps. (The characters go into dolls)

 

I think this doesn't necessary limit to BJDs. Things you feel for/ like naturally make you feel better when your down.

 

For me my dolls are a good therapy. Just their presence makes me happy.

 

I'm spend a lot of time at home and before I got my doll it was really starting to bug me. Jackson keeps me company now and when we're bored we look at new dollies or clothes. :]

 

Ah! I'm glad I searched for a thread like this before posting one of my own. I was thinking just how therapeautic having my doll has been for me, both emotionally and physically. I've mentioned in other threads that, emotionally speaking, since I find my doll beautiful, and she resembled me, she's done a lot to help me heal all the ugly thoughts I've ever felt about myself. I'm really glad I have her. I have a boy coming in, an Orion sculpt from Angel Street, who looks like my husband, since I figured, why not? From there, I've begun to look for dolls that resemble my closest friends. For many reasons, the idea of having these miniature, anime-version, look-alikes fills me with comfort.

On the physical side of things, I've been suffering from mysterious side pains that the docs aren't able to readily explain. At first, they thought it might be gall stones, or an infected gall bladder, or even a damaged liver, as the blood tests clearly show elevated liver enzymes, but all the ultrasound scans show healthy-looking organs. So, while the docs figure out what's wrong with me, I've been clutching Kyouko close whenever I get pain spasms, as I've been told, in no uncertain terms, that I'm not to have pain medications until they figure out what's wrong with me. So, I figure the next best thing is to huggle something I dearly love, and since my husband can't always be with me, due to work and classes on both our parts, Kyouko is definitely it!

And then I get my HIDA scan on Monday, October 4. When speaking with the person making the appointment for me, she asked if I was allergic to morphine, and if I'd object to ensuring I had a driver to take me home. That... scares me. It tells me it's going to be incredibly painful, if they want to give me morphine for it. I'm wondering if it'll be okay for me to have Kyouko with me, and if my boy arrives, I'd like to have Adlewyrchaid with me, too, especially if they won't let my husband be in the room with me to hold my hand. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. And all I can do is hug my doll and tell myself, "At least they'll find out what's wrong with me, and then they'll be able to fix me." But... I'm still clutching Kyouko, feeling scared.

 

I've been going through a hard time with my health both mentally and physically for the past year. I had fallen out of the doll hobby since I've been so busy, but seeing Iplehouse Benny almost by accident drew me back in. She looks just like one of my most beloved characters and I just had to have her. So I put her on layaway and worked hard to bring her home.

In the meantime, I caught up with what I had missed and started making plans for a whole BJD family of characters. I decided then that I needed this hobby. I needed something that was 100% MINE and didn't relate to anything negative in my life. My Benny arrived and I knew I had made the right choice. She makes me so happy and the thought of my other dolls on the way and the ones I have planned gives me something positive to look forward to.

One of my biggest problems right now is depression. Most of the time, I just want to lie face down in bed and ignore everything. I'm working overtime at my job right now and it makes me really upset. But knowing I can use my overtime money on my hobby gets me up in the morning and out the door. When I'm feeling particularly bad, taking out my dolls or looking at pictures of my planned dolls makes me feel better. Some days, this hobby is the ONLY thing that makes me feel better. This hobby motivates me to be creative and social. Two things I've been struggling with for a long time. It's all around good for me and I am so grateful for it.

 

That actually seems quite reasonable. My mother finds her Barbie collection therapeutic, same for my youngest sister and her plush primates. It follows that BJDs would be just as therapeutic, if not more so. Now if only my dad and other sister could find a hobby other than driving Mom nuts...

 

i actually choose to have a BJD partly because of my mental problems. i have BDD and an eating disorder - i'm trying to develop interests that aren't directly related to looks or food. my main interets now are lolita, vocaloids and BJDs - while lolita does make me happy, it didn't quite fit the bill... i'm constatly haunted by the idea that i have to 'fit' the clothes to wear them. (as in, look as good as they look). but vocaloid and BJD seem to work as a good distraction - and with BJDs i can enjoy makeup and clothes without thinking about my looks.


besides - i was in hospital lately and while people were awesome and i was having a good time, the place itself was really depressing - i kept thinking how nice it would be to have a BJD to take there. it'd make my room much more friendly.

 

I suppose it could work. I do have my share of mental "problems" that I'd rather not go into explanation for, not because I'm ashamed of them but because they're so complicated...
But anyways, for me; I've always used drawings as a form of release, to do things or express feelings I couldn't in real life, or even actions and feelings I'm too afraid to show in real life.
I haven't really explored all the possibilities with my BJDs yet, but I have done one thing with them... It may seem silly, but all of my immediate family is kind of... nonconformist... I, however, don't really fit into any scene or label and I like all kinds of clothing, hair, behavior styles... But when I express liking towards something that my family thinks is stupid or overrated, they aren't afraid to tell me so and it's kind of offensive... Hence, so far I've been using my BJDs to show off dress styles I wish I could wear but am too afraid to for fear of my family's judgement.
I imagine as I go on I'll use my BJDs the same way I use my drawings, as a release...

All that aside, I always do feel better after playing with my girl some! Looking at her cute face, making pretty clothes for her, and taking pictures of her in interesting scenes and positions makes me quite happy. I guess I get a child-like thrill from playing with her, and just having a cute little person sitting there really brightens up a room. They're so fun to look at and mess with it's hard to not enjoy yourself

 

Reine - juvenile disease is an awful, awful thing. Don't be embarrassed about talking to a counselor; dealing with illness takes a massive toll, and you shouldnt have to weather it alone!

In terms of depression, I believe BJD's can be a very healthy avenue of expression and a means to relax from stresses of very real things. I'm an open book, here's my bit;

I bought my first BJD when my best friend attempted suicide. He had been victim to a steadily advancing mental condition, and the point came where many of his friends could not keep him in our lives anymore. His behavior took a terrible toll on all of us, and due to the demands of his condition, he was unable to empathize with what he was doing to us.

When I decided to separate myself, I had a few months where I didnt want to go outside or do anything. I just stayed at home in my PJ's, just in the mental 'recovery position.' That's when got really into BJDs. It was a reath of fresh air - something creative, fun, and innocent. I'm really glad I found the hobby when I did - it was just what I needed.

 

I've always loved dolls, but I never truly became interested in owning one until my husband and I had a miscarriage. We were both having a really hard time coping and so we got a doll to have something to send our parental caring feelings towards. Raelee's helped us though a lot of the healing process.

 

The dolls definitely help me with depression.

However, I have a feeling they are not helping with my o/c tendencies...!

 

Funny enough, while I scorned the idea of my dolls being useful like this, I have to say, I'm beginning to be convinced. I'm going through a particularly stressful time myself, and sometimes just having something to hug while I sob my eyes out makes me feel a lot better. I find I'm on DoA constantly, and I'm writing about my dolls more and more. It's like, the more stressed out I get, the more comfortable I feel using my doll hobby to distract myself and ease the pressure. It's quite useful in that respect. I even get a little retail therapy out of it, when I can say "if I do well, someone's getting new eyes" or "I should go browse for Morghan's new wig." etc. It really does help when I just need something to take my mind off things.