BJDs as therapy...

It probably would help some people... But if you're using them as therapy, don't try and restring them by yourself unless you know your stuff

 

Hugs to you...I dealt with an active period of CFIDS between 1991 and 1995. I am currently in durable remission from the disease but occasionally have "bad days" and sudden momentary lapses of consciousness from time to time that make it unsafe for me to drive.

Are Yumiko and Zetto therapy for this? Maybe not, in my case. But I also suffered the loss of my husband of 20 years, and having them in my life has meant I can distract myself from the lingering grief. I have grieved him, but eventually you have to move on, and they are helping me move on.

There's another therapeutic possibility for BJDs, and I'll speak about it in another post on this thread.

 

I put up a thread about this last year, but I'm going to bring it up again. There are a lot of children suffering with pediatric cancers...mostly leukemia but there are lots of others. They often have body image issues because of the side-effects of chemo like bloating and hair loss. And while the needs of boys are attended to, sometimes girls under treatment for pediatric cancers get short shrift. One of the biggest charities for children's cancer is ThinkCure, which is supportive of pediatric cancer research at City of Hope and LA Children's Hospital. The onc who treated my husband helped found ThinkCure with the LA Dodgers organization and USC's athletic department.

Having baseball players visit children's hospitals is great for the boys and some of the girls. But it gives short shrift to girls who don't identify with sports figures. It would be awesome if we could team up with hospitals and clinics that treat pediatric cancers and have "tea parties" with the girls who are undergoing treatment. I know that Volks has donated dolls to individual children suffering life-threatening illnesses through Make A Wish, but it would be great if a doll manufacturer donated dolls, eyes, clothing, shoes and yes, wigs to pediatric cancer wards. I am not sure if bringing one's own dolls would be feasible in some areas of a cancer ward because of issues of maintaining germ-free environments. So we'd have to have help from a doll manufacturer in this.

The dolls start off bald, and often in pieces. It is part of the whole process of loving a BJD to put them together and enhance their beauty. Little girls dealing with chemo would probably find them quite therapeutic. It would offer a metaphor for healing.

What do you all think? I know there's this woman in Puerto Rico who started "Dollies On A Mission" to use dolls to raise money for cancer charities. But I don't know about anyone doing this.

 

Wow, it's amazing how many people are suffering from these debillitating illnesses but it's also a good thing that we find this forum a warm and welcoming enough place to discuss them. I think that says a lot about BJD hobbyists, we're generally nice people ^^
I've been suffering from depression since I was fourteen, and I've kind of grown used to it now and never really expected my life to get better or change. I also have generalized anxiety disorder and a mild form of agoraphobia (I'd rather stay at home in my room than do pretty much most other things... I know, pathetic) so I'm a bit of a problem kid anyway, but all this got worse when I got hit by a car last autumn. To cheer me up, my parents kindly contributed some money to buying my first doll, and ever since then I've always seen him as something that makes me happy, and proof that something good and pure and beautiful can come from something horrible. So yeah, I think of him as therapy because he makes me feel better ^^

 

Bjd is therapy for me. These dolls are my personages... friends... brothers & sisters.
I've affective frustration and I'm in depression always.
But my dolls help me... to smile.

 

LOL that cracked me up!

 

I got into BJDs during a bad bout of depression, and I suppose that even though at that time I hadn't yet bought one (I was still looking and saving then) looking at how lovely these little dolls were, and how intricate, sort of became my escape.
These days, Euphemia helps a lot with my health issues, from the anxiety stuff to the immune system stuff. She's like my personal little therapist!

(On that note of restringing them, though, I have to agree, don't try it yourself if you're using them for therapy. xD;; Euphemia's been in pieces for three days now and every time I need a dollie to cuddly it just reminds me I still have to string her up again!)

 

Oh yeah, Dollfies are incredibly therapeutic. I have a lot of responsibility for others, which I love and which is also very stressful. I have very little time for myself. When I get a package that is a doll or something for my dolls I get so excited. I can play! Today I got a body for a floating head and I spent an hour finding the right wig, clothes, and shoes. It was great.

Ravendolls said it perfectly for me-- "They are my addiction and my therapy, my problem (occasionally) and (always) my escape."

 

I bought my doll to cope with my loneliness actually. Since I was at a new school, I had nobody to really talk to, so I bought Takai. He really helped me get through a lot of things. It was like having a child who doesn't do anything wrong but does. I always talk to him and act like he is responding.

 

I find that putting some of the things I've lived through and dealt with into my dolls' backgrounds helps me deal with the issues I have. It sets the problem apart from me and lets me look at it through a different, and even creative perspective. Sometimes it even helps me reach realizations that I wasn't even aware of.

Don't get me wrong, I don't wholly rely on this coping mechanism, or even expect it to work 100% of the time. Usually, it's simply piecing together an intriguing background for my doll that I won't feel is too lifeless or too exciting.

 

That's very well put. Therapists use this technique to help children work through problems they can't always put into words. I think may of us do this unconsciously. When i worked as a clinical psychologist I realised very quickly how helpful creative visualisation could be. i also know of one member who is using bjds in her works with traumatised young people.

 

YES.
I suffer from severe introversion, and so it really helps to come home to "someone" who doesn't talk, who doesn't complain, makes no noise, and will "listen" to me without passing judgment or anything. When I get fed up with people, he's nice to have around to remind me that it's not all bad.
Also, he helps me get out of really bad moods (which I get into a lot. School+ introversion= an exhausted and grumpy Nyco).
The cherry on the cake: I'm also bipolar, so starting all sorts of sewing projects for him has been really good for coming out of my periodic depressions. Something about the repetitiveness makes me forget about things for a while and puts me in a really zen mood. I find I don't have to take the meds so often

 

That's one of the reasons I got Rowen... and I think why my parents supported it so much. I have very hard classes and lots of school stress, plus painful back issues and very few friends my age (most are in college) which can make things get kinda lonely. I just wanted something to make me happy, something beautiful and friendly that I could pour my soul out too. I've always had stuffed animals and toys, always named them, talked to them, ect so this was nothing new... but I knew that when I ordered Rowen not only would I have something to talk to and cuddle without said thing trying to squirm away (like my kitten or puppies sometimes do) but I would also have a creative out lit.

Honestly, she is one of the best things I have ever gotten.

 

I have severe anxiety problems and, though in recent years it has gotten better/easier to deal with, clinical depression. While he doesn't help me as much during a panic attack or a bad bout of depression as a hug or having my BFF there would, Hakkai does really help. Hugging him and playing with him distracts me and sometimes can keep me a little more "level" than I otherwise would be. He's something tangible to hold on to when I'm alone in the apartment panicking over a school assignment. It's really helpful.

 

New facet I wanted to add:
I am slightly autistic, and I live with Chronic Depression, as I've mentioned before I think. Routine is my friend. Familiarity helps stave off anxiety that otherwise leads to downward slides in my functioning. When things change too rapidly around me, having a doll there adds a focus of familiarity in the form of something I associate with creativity, companionship and devotion. If I have to stay away from my home, (my emotional "safe zone") having a Tiny tucked inside my purse, ready for covert thumb-hugs, is just so reassuring.
Kind of an adult version of a security blanket, heheh.

 

I'm not in therapy but I agree dolls can be very therapeutic. If I'm having an issue with a personal situation then a lot of times, dealing with my dolls can take my mind right off it. Just gives me something nice to focus on other than going over and over whatever the conflict or impasse with the other person is.
I'm one of those people who has always found dolls to be restful for reasons I can't explain. When I couldn't afford the dolls I wanted or couldn't find them, just looking at pictures of dolls made me feel better. I really don't know why this is but I'm happy to accept it as I need all the relaxation I can get. It's always odd to me when people say "oh dolls are so creepy" because to me they really restful, they reduce anxieties, not create them.

 

Interesting. Are you able to give some examples about what kind of things can be revealed about you by your choice of coll? I don't know if you can, but just in case, that would be interesting for me, as a n00b to find out.

 

I agree!! I'm another bjd owner with depression/anxiety and various health problems. Everytime I look at my dolls, they cheer me up. I love having them!

 

I am not on the spectrum but my oldest son is. I however do have SPD which it seems many on the spectrum also have. I also struggle with social anxiety and am bi-polar and I couldn't agree more with the adult security blanket thing. When out in unfamiliar places or places with many people I quickly become overwhelmed. I cannot walk into a room and divide things into "necessary information" vs "unnecessary information" I experience everything at once and it is incredibly disconcerting. I become very withdrawn and anxious when this happens. I love to go to Akon, but it is so hard on me emotionally and psychologically to be there. There are so many things to see, so many people who can't help but bump against you as they moved through packed areas and just so much sound (I am very sensitive to sound). I always wind up clinging to my husband and still having to leave the dealer room frequently to hide in the quiet of the bar. I noticed last year when I took my dolls with me I did not have quite so extreme of a reaction. For some reason I am always afraid I will get lost in the crowd, become overwhelmed and not know what to do. Despite being an adult and being fairly independent in general. There is just something about these sorts of situations that make me feel out of sorts. But last year I was able to wander briefly on my own while holding Noble. I could go to dealers across the room from my husband and not panic that we were not touching. It was like having a doll with me helped keep me grounded or more myself in a situation that I don't find entirely comfortable. I think security blanket is the perfect term for it. My oldest son has shown some interest in his own doll for some time now. He wants a dollzone rabbit and I am wondering if it would be helpful to him.

I do find that the dolls are helpful to me in many therapeutic ways. Having a hobby in general is of course helpful but I find that the dolls are special to me. I find them soothing when I am manic and anxious and they boost my spirits when I am depressed. I think when I finally get back in to the psychiatrist I will probably take one of the dolls with if for no other reason than I feel less anxious when holding a doll.