BJDs as therapy...

Yyyyyyeeeeesssss!!!! I also have many painful health issues that have negatively impacted my self-esteem. The bjd hobby has been a very positive outlet for me. And loving the characters I've created has made me feel better about myself AND not focus so much on my ailments. I'm happy you're doing better!!!!

 

I know I've been in this thread before, but I'm coming back to it, looking over everyone's posts... and, I'll admit, I was thinking quite a lot about this before I came on DoA today!

I've been having a very rough month, physically and emotionally, and it's been a real struggle. I'm the oldest of three (disabled, adult) children, and the only one who qualifies for disability despite not being the least physically-abled. This month I've been stretching myself thinner than usual, just trying to help out.

It's been hard, especially when I was the only one in the house who didn't have a bad cold and some kind of injury. I've definitely felt like I was taking care of others to the detriment of myself, and I have a few stress issues that are still building, but today, being freshly showered and in a clean enough shirt, I brought Vince downstairs with me, sat him on a chair in the breakfast nook while I ate, washed my hands, and then had him sit in my lap while I did my morning e-mail answering.

Eventually my cat came to sit with me as well, and he's a sweetheart who does his best to make me feel better, but my cat is also a giant, and he doesn't necessarily put his weight where I want it when he sits with me. Vince is an MSD, which is just the right size for me to hold in the crook of my arm when I'm typing, just enough calming weight, and I like having his sweet face looking up at me (even if his faceup needs to be redone).

I felt a lot better having some doll time. No, he's not a replacement for my meds, but my meds don't take care of extreme stressors, they keep me functioning despite baseline anxiety and depression. Since I don't currently have a therapist (no one I can see in my area who's on my insurance plan or a specialist in my issues-- the local autism specialist is my mother! And the office that takes my insurance is someone I already know socially as well...), I have to rely on the coping mechanisms I've learned from people I've worked with in the past, and one of the things that calms me down is having a hobby.

One of my hobbies is currently a source of stress instead of a stress-reliever, and I've gotten a lot of comfort out of just having one of my dolls sitting next to me while I work. (and Vince's hand really is perfect for 'holding' my finger)

 

My doll is definately my therapy doll. He came right when I lost two of my closest friends and his presence during that time definately helped me cope. It did worlds of good for me just to have him near to hold him, even if he is not a living thing. I definately think dolls are good therapy tools and I have years of proof to support it. >< Dolls have always helped me cope with traumatic situations....just the feeling of holding and hugging them, it makes me feel worlds better.

 

Dolls are a real therapy. Sometimes I am too busy to do anything with them, but when bad days strike - I miss them so much and can't wait to run home to them.

 

Yes I find my new girl good therapy I have only had her a couple of weeks but she takes my mind off health issues and other stresses in life. One look at her I can't help smiling.

 

Finding that I enjoy sewing so much to distract me from panic attacks and Sad moments is half of what convinced me to get into this hobby in the first place! I think this will be good for me emotionally, I find the dolls so calming and lovely and they make me happy just to look at them. Yes, I think they definitely have a therapeutic value for a lot of people! But they are so dangerous (fiscally) to people with addictive personalities that I definitely wouldn't recommend them to everyone.

 

I seem to collect mental disorders and crippling ailments like some of the people here collect dolls, but I don't find dolls as insanely theraputic as I would have five or six years ago. I like looking at lovely childlike dolls, though..... wonder what that says about me :P

 

I have a mental disorder (either bipolar or asperger's autism, your choice) I get stressed very easily and my girl is like a safe haven for me where everything seems....perfect.

I feel like it's a double edged sword in it where I don't want my girl to be made with a job of making me happy, but she is the only reason I haven't committed suicide yet. Because she needs me more than I need her. I don't call her my doll because she is more than a doll, she's my everything and she's like the daughter that I will never have (out of choice, not medical reasons)

 

Unlike everyone else in this thread, I don't feel any better when I'm around my girl. It's quite the eopposite for me, when I'm depressed I don't want to see (let alone touch) my dolls. I prefer watching anime until I feel better but my dad gets angry and I get depressed even more. I really wish to play around with my sweetie but at the same time I have no wish to dress her up and take photos. Lately my mom has been playing with her more than I have. I'm saving for second girl but at times I feel like giving up on dolls and selling everything I have. :/

 

coming from an abusive childhood I find it extremely therapeutic
to photograph my dolls in loving family type pictures.

 

I agree with BJD's being therapeutic. I just recieved Ai, and already I feel 10 times more relaxed and chipper than before! That's why they are our angels

 

I find them therapeutic, as well. I've got depression and everything that comes along with it, and working with or planning for my dolls just calms the chaos usually running rampant in my head.

I think it's because it gives me something to focus on, and I can pour all of my energy into working on this doll, clothes for the doll, or getting pictures of the doll, as opposed to letting my mind go to the dark places it likes to go. Before I joined the BJD hobby, I would pour the same kind of energy into drawings/paintings/writing, too, so this is another focus that keeps my mind calm and helps me be a little happier.

 

For starters, I'm sorry so many of you suffer from illness, both physical and mental. It's amazing that these dolls can provide such security to some.

As for me, when I'm experiencing a downward trend in mood and mental stability, I find refuge in my doll(s) and the BJD community. However, if I'm already in the midst of a terrible episode, whether depressive, manic, or psychotic in nature, the last thing I want is to see or think about dolls. During such episodes I tend to lock them away until I (hopefully) feel better. As someone who has relatively severe psychotic breaks from reality, I find that anything even remotely life-like (such as these dolls) can easily manifest as threatening or controlling in nature. (Due to hallucinations and delusions, of course... These aren't ideas which hold true in my mind when I'm feeling well, which I am, usually.) In which case it's obviously best for both my and their safety to remove them from my presence.
However, once on the other side of the tunnel, it's always a pleasure to pull them out of hiding. It's like meeting an old friend again.

 

Dolls can be really helpful. First of all - they are connected with our positive emotions. Also they are beautiful objects of art and art is known to be a good therapy... When I come home stressed I always spend some time with my boys, talk to them, drink tea with them, even read books to them... And I somehow forget about that stressful world outside my room and feel much better.

 

Yes, my dolls are like " spiritual friends" to me in a way... evertime I'm depressed or stressed I look at them and touch them and they make me feel better, more relieved. I love changing their clothes and re-arrange them on the sofas, taking pics and organizing their stuff. Having contact with my dolls help me clear out my mind from bad thoughts and stimulates my creativity! I always mentally chat wirh them which is funny, I do it naturally everytime I enter the room. They are definitely a good therapy to me!

 

I believe they are amazing therapy.
Discounting all my own issues and problems, I recently moved home and, since the day I got back from living far away, I've been treated mostly like garbage. We recently found out my mom has cancer and my dad is stressing over it. So she's tired and worried and he's become more angry and. . . expressive. . . about it. When I'm feeling like wanting to leave again or just curl up and never move again, I pull out the pink wig I got to put on my eventual doll and hold it and pet it. I don't even have her here yet and she's already helping me get through my days.
I'm not sure how they help others exactly, but I believe them to be great channels for our energy and time, positive channels.

 

I also have depression and anxiety, and Leah has helped a lot! All of my dolls are characters from my writing, which is already one of my outlets. It's a really great form of escapism to sit around with her outside, taking pictures and making up little stories about her adventures. She's also helped me cope with my type 1 diagnosis... I've kept her by my side since I was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago. It's also really exciting to wait for a doll-- I can't wait until I have Corbin and his body, so I can start doing his mods (Corbin is also diabetic and will have a bionic pancreas implant on his arm ). One of my coping mechanisms is using my characters to deal with my problems, and it really does help. I may even get a tiny version of him to put in my diabetes supply bag!

 

Since getting Avalon home...It's been easier just to pick him up and hold him when life gets stressful. My parents fight a lot (like I've stated in a previous post) and fiddling with him helps. The day after I got him my parents got into a really REALLY bad fight that lasted almost the entire day so I just stayed in my room and cuddled him as I watched TV or went online. I honestly think I would've spent the day crying if I didn't have him to dote on. I spent that day fiddling with him as well, tightening his elastic whenever needed, pose him...Y'know all that stuff...And then started making him clothes and stuff.

I feel...Relaxed during that stuff. Instead of ranting to my friends a lot I just pick him up and hold him..And I feel better.

 

This is why I decided now to go for it and purchase the doll I have wanted for a while. The last six months haven't been easy for me. I was diagnosed with Duhring's Disease, and for months nobody knew what was wrong with me. For this time, I was in a constant state of pain and discomfort (the issue covered most of my body, including my scalp) and when I emerged from the other side I was left with permanent scarring that has had a major effect on my self-esteem. Add this to the fact that I already suffer from depression, and it just felt pretty horrific. I can still barely look at my scars.
When a money issue arose that meant I needed to hold onto the money that I had saved for her for a while in case of emergencies, I was actually devastated. I need to stop pinning optimism on material things, but on a psychological level I understand why these things can mean so much to us.
We pour so much love into them, and though they are inanimate they are more than capable of pouring that love back out to us when we most need it.

 

I absolutely think the dolls are therapeutic, on so many levels!

My first doll orders haven't yet shipped, but I know how my spirit is lifted by simply gazing at beautiful works of art - which the dolls are! for the sheer pleasure and enjoyment that gives! Then, there's the potential to express emotion through them, as in art, poetry, music, gardening or any other means of self expression through personal creative choices - with their posing, photography/sets/presentation/lighting/outfits etc. They also offer an opportunity of working through unresolved or even unconscious issues, through character creation/interaction/backstories etc. And, of course, there's the therapeutic benefit derived from artistic expression and development through faceups, blushing, mods, sewing, photography, etc. Also, the retail therapy aspect of shopping for them and the simple escapism they provide from RL. I'm sure the list goes on and on...