BJDs as therapy...

It's nothing to feel shameful about. I'm sure many feels the same way you do. ^__^

Anything (a pet, a love one, family, music, flowers, food, dolls, art etc etc) can be a form of mental therapy. It varies from people to people. It is fortunate that you have found something to help you feel better too. Some people never found 'it' and are still looking for 'it'.

 

Kiril's definately a form of "therapy" for me. He's been based on someone I can look up to, almost like a big brother/best friend kind of person, but at the same time he's like the son that I wish I could have.

If I'm moody, I look at him and we play together, and then I'm better. If I'm really stressed, I'll just hold him and stroke his hair or feet or hold his hands; and even though the problem doesn't go away, I feel better. He really does help me out when I'm lonely or depressed, so he's like therapy without the shrink, I guess.

There are a lot more things that go on between the two of us, but he really is therapeutic I love having him around, and doing anything for him (sewing outfits, drawing him, combing his hair, etc) is really relaxing and leaves a pleasant feeling inside. I love Kiril so much!!

 

I totally agree, they are a therapy. They are a way to evade yourself, which is very pleasant.

 

i so hear you on this. i'm typing this from work, and Saxon is here on my desk, accompanying me to work for the first time. he's only been home since Thursday, but the very thought that he was soon coming home has helped me the past couple of weeks in surviving a job a dislike while trying to find another.

dolls are so very much theraputic. i love holding Tamsin. he makes me feel safe and special. same with Cyr. with Cyr in my arms, i feel bold.

Saxon is so sweet and solemn and cute -- and small! -- just looking at him makes me feel so much better. a tilt of his head and he looks curious. another tilt and he looks sad. another, determined. my silent little boy, here to keep watch over me, here for me to hug when a customer yells or snaps or just plain doesn't get it and i want to cry.

 

!! I * LOVE * THIS * THOUGHT !!

Oh my gosh now I'm all weepy. In a good way
Because god knows growing up is one of the most painful things that can happen to a person. I think we need to take care of ourselves more so that we are able to care for others too.

Thank you for this!!

and, um... yeah. I'm a card-carrying member of the Gimp Squad too. You should see the wad of pills I have to take every morning. Lordy. The dolls are very relaxing and very loved... and thinking that yes, I DO deserve to enjoy beautiful things is fabulous therapy for a hurting soul I used to be able to play the guitar to relax. Ha. injuries are not happy things.

Hugs to all my fellow "one-long-day-at-a-time" -ers

 

Oh indeed my dolls are therapy for me... when indeed they are not driving me insane. XD

No seriously. They are my addiction and my therapy, my problem (occasionally) and (always) my escape.

That's all I'm able to say here about the matter!!

I'm glad your doll helps you, and that you have wonderful professional care to go along with it.


Raven

 

This is a very thought provoking thread. I've been collecting dolls for around 20 years now and only started with the BJDs about 2 years ago. I am not sure if dolls are therapeutic but they are an outlet for my stresses. Life is full of stressors. Work, finances, family, other people and even pets can all bring great joys and great sorrows. I find my dolls to be an escape. My biggest concern is when I find myself wanting so many things for my dolls and not really being able to afford it all. But that's how it is with everything else too--never enough $$ to do everything. We must pick and choose how to spend our disposable income.

I love this hobby but mostly for the interactions with other collectors. My hobby has really become an entirely different hobby since I have met so many other collectors via this wonderful internet. Before that I had a few friends who had a doll or two but really knew no other collectors. Now I know many people. Some I only know via emails and have never met in person. But many collectors I have met personnally, including several DoA members. Either way, I know some very wonderful people and we have become friends.

Dolls have given me a wonderful social outlet and a wholesome, entertaining way of spending my free time. I love searching the net for dolls or items for my dolls. I love posting on here and on other doll boards. I enjoy photographing the dolls, even though I am a real amateur at that. I like to post the photos and have others comment on them. This is just a wonderful hobby and if it helps as a de-stressor that's just icing on the cake so to speak.

 

I absolutely agree that they are an excellent way to release stress, focus on the positive, find my creative side and feel good about myself and others. I love to design and sew clothing but I certainly could never afford to sew for myself, the ensembles I create for my girls and guys! When I finish a sewing project and take photos of it, I just feel so good! I make the joke that my dolls are much better dressed than I am!

My elfdoll Sovahlina is such a joy I can't even put into words how much I love this doll. I know it sounds nutty but I take her with me to doll shows and conventions just as if she were my companion for the trip.

I also truly enjoy getting together with the doll club I just found. The social aspect of collecting dolls has blossomed for me and I am delighted to find people who enjoy dolls as much as I do! I also love being able to share this wonderful doll experience online through the doll forums like DofA, Zen, Prego, etc! This helps me to believe in my "fellow man" again, which is very theraputic!

 

Bjds are totally therapeutic.
Grendel helps me deal with problems that I have--he's sort of like a male body for me in a sense when I am currently female, and he in general just helps with me dealing with being transgender and having a family that would probably not support me if they knew.
Besides that, I do have mild synethesia and I am not sure how, but he helps with me not freaking out over colours in the wrong place and such. Actually, thats why I chose him over a Camine or Saint-- his face and the colour grey are the same shape, and well, the colour grey is one of my best "friends," if you will.
Grendel is my companion I am rarely seen without him, despite that he likes to make fun of me, tease me, and be an apathetic ass and demand that I treat him like a prince.
Lonan, on the other hand, I do not know that well at all, but I think because of his facial structure it would be hard for me to part with him and to make Grendel part with him, even though he wears the colour brown, which goes back to the synethesia thing--I do not like the colour brown for reasons I don't quite understand.

brown=

 

What an interesting and thought provoking thread. For me, they are just simply an escape - from what I'm not sure. Mayhap, that is something to seriously ponder, but first, I must play a bit....

 

my therapist equates my love of dolls as a means of control. Also the same reason I like the sims so much. >< I've had a rocky history with cutting, and self abusive tendencies and outlooks, and I have a severe need to control things. It spills over onto my dolls, in so far as their lives and their various styles, and the fact that they are totally customizable. It also helps that they're utterly captivating. Much prettier than scars, ne?

 

Definitely an interesting thread. Timely too. I was was pondering over ordering a doll body (Obitsu 60cm, I have the head already) this week. My husband, very seriously, said "Stop fretting over it. The dolls are like therapy for you, but a whole lot cheaper no matter what you buy. Order what you want, everything you want." The next day he even brought home some of the furniture he knew I wanted for my small dolls.

 

Oh yes, BJDs are definatly a therapy for me.
I won't tell the whole story, but after my sister died in 2006 Ophelia definatly helped me trough these times. She was distraction from everything on the whole world. If you're busy with the doll, you completely forget everything around it, which is good for an hour (or two).

 

I agree that dolls can be very helpfull if you're going through tough times. When I first got into dolls I was having some medical issues that were keeping me from a lot of activities that I loved to do. Having the dolls gave me something that I could enjoy without having to expend a lot of physical energy. I also tend to be very shy, and doll meetups are a great non-threatening way to meet new people.

 

My father just died and dolls are a wonderful distraction. They help stop circular thinking, and soothe while they do so. Dolls are definitley therapy.

 

I have synesthesia too! I don't know if my doll helps me with it, but she helps me relax.

 

=) I definitely think dolls are therapeutic.

I get stressed easily over ridiculously small things (i.e.; not being able to do XYZ, etc.) I find that when I imbue personalities or qualities in my dolls that I'm unable to achieve myself as of now, it's as if I have something that will continue to be an extension of me and what I want to do, and therefore takes some pressure off my chest and helps me focus better in general. I hope I'm making sense.

Although this is off topic, the more I think about this, the more I think having dolls resemble having kids, just without the additional responsibility. (yikes!1!)

 

may be a way to transcend that pain and focus on something pure and good and safe?? I have a ooak Leaf with ('bloody') bandages to represent that pain-- maybe to replace the pain or soothe it or let it go?

 

My girls and boy are my therapy when I'm not in therapy! I have post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression so I go to my real therapist at least 3 times a week. I have brought Stevie to therapy twice and my therapist loves her. I will be bringing in my other two this week. She thinks that they are good for me because they keep me focused and keep me looking forward to something (making them a new outfit, painting someone a new face-up, saving for a new doll etc).
Each one of them is an aspect of my own personality and I can make them do and wear things that I would love. They are also all very brave personalities and are able to do things that I am too afraid to do.
I also had a terrible time as a kid and my therapist always tells me that it's never too late to have a happy childhood. And that is what my dolls help me do