BJDs as therapy...

My doll definitely helps with my anxiety and depression. It gives me something to focus on, especially since I need to be careful with the joints. And I can act out with her a little bit. I'd love to eventually have a tiny one to take with me.

 

BJD's help so much...like they literally make you feel so much better while you hold them and style them or just talking to them. They helped so much with my mental illness and i know people who they felt better with them so i think they help so much. I wont go into detail but i think it has helped some of us in some point.

 

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! My dollies both BJDs and off topic dolls have helped me cope with a lot of things, I currently have my desktop background set to pics of a doll I'm waiting on so when the stress gets too much I can easily see pics of the girl I have to look forward to.
I think things like dolls and plushies and the like help a lot of people deal with life more than people sometimes realize. I know my therapist loves the fact that I have my dollies and thinks it is a very good thing for me to have in my life. It's nice to have a safe little bubble world to escape into sometimes, and I'm glad that there are so many of us who are understanding of 'grown-ups' who still 'play' with dolls and are able to find joy in them when sometimes it seems there isn't a lot of joy to go around.

 

BJDs are great for mental health in general, and this can apply to any hobby really. Hobbies give us a break from reality, give us new skills, and give us a sense of accomplishment. For me, BJDs help me de-stress after working and being put under pressure. I also take pride in my dolls and how they've helped me improve my photography skills.

 

So straight to the point, ive realized that my dolls are pretty amazing help with my paranoia and hallucinations. My dolls are just as real to me as the negative things im percieving in my mind. Niether of them are real, but theyre still kind of just there either way. If anything came up, id take my doll out and along with the negative thing, thered be a positive thing.

I would just think of my doll smoking and making stupid puns, while a monster was behind them trying desperately to get their attention. It makes me feel at peace and light hearted, even if i feel like im about to get my heart ripped out by gollum. And I mean even if smeagol was gonna rip out my heart, itd probably only last like 5 seconds.

Other than that, they fix my urge to want to fix everyones hair, which i probably should go to therapy for.

 

Recently I found myself dolls help me get out of depression and/or paranoia. Not sure whether joint somehow affect me. I regularly talk with my therapist, since both depression and paranoia are side-effect of my drug, so we were searching how to decrease side-effect. Never told about BJDs yet, but I'm gonna talk about dolls and decide whether it would really helps me out.

 

This is a really interesting concept and I hadn't thought of it to be honest, but I really like it Thanks everyone for sharing, Hopefully I'll come back soon to share how it helps me!!!

 

BJDs have help me a lot. I have severe depression,aniexty,and a little bit of ocd. I'm also am extremly shy, I have a hard time talking to people and making friends because of it. But I've been in this hobby I think for about 2 years now, and it has helped me so much. my Bjd have helped me with becoming less depressed and they help me open up a bit more and go out to meet people at Bjd meets. When ever I'm sad all I have to do is concentrate on them and all my sadness just goes away.

 

This thread is interesting, I went through nearly all posts x) It's nice to know you're not the only one out there, but also sad to see we're so many! My love and regards to Anyone who's rollercoaster ride is currently at the bottom

I suffer from depression and several weird anxiety disorders/phobias. It's very debilitating at times, once I face an anxiety I find myself not being able to move for a while. Studying used to be my escape in the last year of college, though everything else was going down the drain x) when I graduated it seems that the stress causing my depression and hence anxiety (or vice versa) was relieved and I got much better with occasional small mood swings. But after that last huge depression I found that my relationships do not matter as much as they did before it, I mean I love my friends but it's okay if we go for weeks without talking/going out/me thinking about them and that is really weird for someone who spent her time mostly with her friends xD

I saw BJDs at a friend's teaparty and it reminded me of my love of Pullips back when I didn't know how to order online or have the money to do so xD so I searched high and low and fell in love with Iplehouse - I couldn't stop thinking about their dolls! It was the first time for a long long time that I felt the surge of positive emotions! Surely, getting my first doll (Mystic Kids) was very frightening for me (what if I don't love her or spend time with her?) but once I got over that I can't think of going somewhere with scenery without thinking how to get my dolls there and which one I'd take I also took one with me to a trip and my sisters noticed how I didn't freak out much on the plane once I had my doll out xD (I'm claustrophobic) everytime I felt a wave of fear coming I would change the posture of my doll and take a photo xD

I also have issues with my image and love, my mom used to go ballistic if people came to ask for my sisters hands, or if a guy used to call our number by mistake, of course we'd get called names and implications that we were easy... It made me think I'm not good enough and love is a sin... So I love it when I can see my dolls in the perfect shape I always wanted, and love to see them in love that I'm scared to have x) I'm glad my parent's are divorced recently, mom was so venomous to dad (still is >.<) he didn't notice how abusive she was to us. Having my BJDs around in these troubling times are a blessing... I just wish I had them sooner.

I know this is a long post xD and I'm sorry but today wasn't a good day.

 

this is a really interesting thread! i definitely use my dolls to help me out. the hobby is very therapeutic. i was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and social anxiety disorder and i think i can definitely say my dolls lighten my moods. i also give my dolls a piece of my own personality (two of my characters have BPD and met via group therapy in my story.. etc etc). i feel like i can connect with them even more that way. they definitely cheer me up and keep me happy haha.

 

Since moving to another state I had experienced a lot of depression. I had purchased my first doll in 2015 and I noticed that planning her out had relaxed me. It gave me something to look forward to. Talking about them keeps horrible thoughts from entering my head so my best friend often brings up my dolls when our conversations head south. Ordering my new girl has certainly brightened up my days.

 

I can relate to it giving something to plan, lookforward to and relax you... Planning brings me peace

 

Has anyone been depressed and their dolls helped you? I was curious to see if others had the same expirence.

 

I think if you read the 'dolls bringing happiness' topic you'll see that for many dolls are a general help with stress relief.
As for me, I haven't been in a state of clinical depression and I don't call other mental states 'depression', but my dolls also are a way to relieve stress for me. I kind of tend to go into a darker mental state about twice a year that results in a short meltdown. And my dolls always help to get better. Also I've noticed that I'm more likely to order a doll when I'm on the downside. Basically I've ordered my first two and decided to get into the hobby actively after a very stressful time for me, when I was exhausted both mentally and physically. And now it sort of turned into a pattern.

 

Hello! Lurker here!
So I have been diagnosed with major depression, anxiety, and PTSD. You wouldn't know it from meeting me, however, because I am pretty bubbly and outgoing. My therapist sees I have a lot of "childlike tendencies" so says I need to play more. Since getting my first BJD (a 3D printed dragon) I have interacted with him more than any other toy. I feel very responsible for him and have an almost motherly vibe. It has helped me a bit with empathy, patience, and has boosted my mood a bit! Then, when I get stressed, I just talk to him and it helps a bit!

 

I think that planning doll purchases and costumes does help with depression. It gives me something to look forward to, and takes my mind temporarily off my problems. When I sew, if I am lucky, I manage to get into the proper calm absorbed , almost zen like state, I am completely not thinking about my life, but purely focused on creating something beautiful for my doll.

 

I only have one doll right now, but I'm planning another at the moment and yeah, it is helping. It's nice to have something to put your everything into like that, to focus on and think about, especially with all of the fun things that you can do with these dolls.

 

doing things you enjoy , eating well , sleeping well all help with depression so If you enjoy dolls and can afford them without increasing your stress (money shortness can increase stress) then it will help but it's not "the dolls" is whatever enjoys the individual diagnosed with depression

 

I'm depressed and sometimes I find it hard to enjoy my dolls. They are something to look forward to but with all the things I need to do, thinking about all the doll things I want to do adds to my feeling overwhelmed and unable to do much of anything, doll-related or otherwise. But they also are a nice pretty thing to look at when life seems so, not pretty.

 

Not really. I actually lost interest in the hobby bit by bit as my depression got worse, because the dolls were tied to my writing and that got swamped by the depression.

What helped was volunteering with abandoned animals at a local shelter. I managed to get my life back on track partially through that, and got back into dolls as well.