Feeling overwhelmed

This was just the thread I needed! Recently, just looking at my dolls has made me so anxious I've been wiping and redoing their faceups every other day for months now

After reading about everyone's experiences and feelings in this thread I put away all of my dolls! I still have a couple of heads on my desk to paint, but I might actually put away those, too.

 

A decade ago the multitude of dolls was delightfull to me ... now after 3 house moves and my own family it just drives me crazy , every time I think of my dolls is with a sigh and a headache , I am definately overwhelmed and want to downsize to 4-5 dolls this way I ll be able to enjoy them better !!!
I still think all my dolls are beautiful but they are too many for me and my circumstances.

 

So let me start by saying I am not a professional therapist or anything, but I struggle with executive dysfunction.
I want to do the thing. I need to do the thing.
I don't do the thing.
I believe this is a very simplified description of executive dysfunction.

Sounds like clearing the physical "clutter" (all these dolls staring at me! Making me feel guilty!) is what is helping folks make mental space to focus on projects.

I am the opposite. I packed all of my dolls away. My house was neat and orderly. I was miserable. I need to see my girls. I need them to glare at me with unpainted faces and remind me that I have things to do. I am very much an out of sight, out of mind kind of person.

If anyone else is like me: what helps me is music or a silly podcast. I need noise or some kind of distraction so that the "I don't wanna" or "SQUIRREL!" gets drowned out, and I can get to doing the thing. And without contradicting what I said above, I need a space to work. If I have to move boxes/dolls/outfits/tools, I'll walk by and keep on walking. But I am drawn to a clear, flat surface like a moth to the flame. Bonus if my crafty supplies are nice and organized and pretty, cuz now they're just begging to be used.

Hope this helps someone else.

 

Feeling called out This is so me. Is there some pill I can eat to fix this? Asking for a friend. Just kidding. It's for me.

But I am much like you, although it takes some time, I need to see the projects every day to eventually force myself to do the thing. If I put it away, I forget what I was supposed to do, only left with that lingering feeling that I gave up on something that I really wanted and believed I could do, again

I can also vouch that decluttering without hiding the problem has worked well for me too. I only have a tiny space to work on my projects. It's not even a full desk because my heavy cintiq takes up most of the space. So it becomes cluttered fast. But every time I get the power to do the cleaning thing, it comes with a burst of energy to work on my doll projects again Until I am interrupted by something that zaps my brain back into its non-functioning mode. I will keep reminding myself to tidy up. Maybe I will write it on my whiteboard. *stares at whiteboard, asking brain to please do the thing*

Another thing that I do.... when I feel bad about seeing my dolls naked or in unfinished clothing. I keep telling myself, she's a doll. She's not hurt or embarrassed. She's not going anywhere. And she will be ready for me, when I'm ready for her Until then, she will wait for me She has no choice or opinion on the matter anyway Instead, I should worry about my own feelings and take care of these projects soon so I can enjoy looking at them.
Soon doesn't happen right away but I feel less of that dread and negativity when I remind myself that the girls are just fine. and this is something fun that I do for myself, and it's okay if I take breaks from it.

 

Waiting to do things can be stressful, but I would argue it can be even worse to rush things and not have them go as well. Striking a balance is difficult

 

This! I was all set to get my faceups done this weekend, but weather said nope.

 

Ah. I have given up on convincing my brain to do the thing. What I do instead is trick the brain into not realizing I'm doing the thing.

I loved clubbing when I was in my 20s, which was *mumble mumble* years ago. Music makes me have energy. There's no pain, no thoughts, just music. It took me forever to realize that doing face-ups in silence is a-g-o-n-y. I will quit after 5 minutes. (Self-awareness is not my superpower.) But put on some boot-stomping music, and the hours just fly by. I'll paint face after face while I'm bopping along in time to something with a good beat.

For cramped spaces, I highly recommend organizers - like the little plastic shelves for nails and screws they sell cheap at hardware stores. Perfect for storing eyes, eye putty, jewelry, extra hands/feet, individual tubes of paint, Q-tips... with little organizers, the world is your oyster.
Now - putting the things back when I'm done? Yeah. That's still a work in progress.

 

That is smart. I'm a music lover, but since you mentioned it, I am living most of my life without music these days. I used to keep it on blast but now I live with my husband and cousin who both work from home. Next time I start sewing I will throw on my headphones and see if it helps me focus. Thanks for the suggestion about the music and the organizers.

Spoiler

(And bring your mumble mumble self out dancing sometime! I don't know what genre you listen to but there are plenty of people 30s to 60s at the edm shows and festivals I go to!! most of the 20-something babies tend to crowd at the front of the stage and leave us old farts plenty of room for dancing Sorry I know this has nothing to do with dolls but I hope you still get out there and stomp your boots once in a while )

 

I
LOVE
EDM!!!!

 

OMG Definitely! I actually just recently did a doll purge and got rid of a ton of dolls (still have a lot more to sell) and am focusing on the dolls that spart joy and want to build characters for. I feel like I went a little crazy and just bought anything that I thought was cool or pretty and now I am being more selective with the dolls I bring into my collection. Sadly for me that has meant that the dolls I am buying are more expensive so my wallet isnt happy but I sure am when I look at the beautiful dolls I love and not just a wall of dolls that aren't as meaningful.

 

I have a tendency to start projects and not quite finish them or they end up not the way I want. I think about all the stuff I need to do and I get anxious. Something that has always helped me is making and organizing information/lists. I have a document I put all my doll information into, each doll has a page that includes their measurements, what clothes, eyes, and hair are theirs, and what I need to do for them. Then I organize my list of things to do based off what I think will be most fun and what doll I want to finish first.

I had that experience with wigs. I tried several times to make wigs, one I redid about 4 times, one didn't fit and I tore it apart, and several the hair got messed up from trying to style it. I no longer have any fun making wigs and do my best to avoid it.

 

Not with dolls, but with nearly everything else in my life - Yes. Giant capital letters YES. I'm bad about getting into a thing, coming up with huge projects, and then never finishing.... and now I have an office full of craft supplies and other hobbies that I really ought to let go of.

I did a huge purge of craft and sewing supplies some two years ago during the height of COVID and I still feel like I have too much... It's made even more overwhelming / stressful because I'm moving in a few weeks and I need to pack all of this stuff up.

Your milage may vary, but outside of the move I just mentioned, I try to remind myself that when I find myself getting overwhelmed with projects that I have no specific deadline. Most things are just for me and I can have fun with it and just enjoy the process. If I've gotten to a point where I avoid it and/or find a thing anxious or unpleasant to indulge in... well, that's my sign to part ways with it and get it off my plate for good.

 

I usually don't have all of my collection together in a single place, but seeing the sheer amount of dolls on the spreadsheet makes me realize how many dolls I have. I have made marks on which ones I plan on selling, but it doesn't feel that overwhelming in person due to me boxing most of them up and most of them being under 1/6, although I now have more 1/4 than 1/6 dolls.

 

I feel like this a lot. I've always started to feel overwhelmed when my dolls hit a certain number, then sold off half the crew. I've finally realized a lot of my issues have been not the number, but not having them at their best, which makes me less interested in them because I just see unfinished pieces and not the doll I planned to love. So I've learned to work very very fast. Like do 3 faceups in a day, make a full outfit in under 2 hours, never let a new doll sit around blank and naked for longer than 24 hours. I usually buy a wig, eyes and outfit as soon as I order the doll just so they can be complete immediately. Extras can come later.

 

Music and lists are how I get things done in life I've discovered it really helps me to change tasks if I either turn on the music or turn off the music if it is already on. My weird brain is like Ooh, music change, now I can concentrate!

 

I have felt exactly that way a couple times since I started collecting. Last year I seriously considered getting out of the hobby completely. I had one doll I was still a bit excited about, but all my other dolls had more demands than he did, and so I ended up doing nothing for a long time.

Finally I put everyone away except for him. I slapped on a faceup, made him a basic outfit that fit my vision, and then just spent six months looking at him and letting myself enjoy him while I kind of forgot about my other dolls. Every so often I pull out one of my others for a while, but I'm mostly just sticking with my one guy for the time being. That's been keeping it manageable for me, and I'm really happy with how he turned out, so he brings me joy to look at every day.

I'm hoping that soon, I'll be able to pull out more of my dolls and enjoy them again.

 

Well, I don't sell them immediately if I don't get them done in a day, and I do excuse special situations (like being way too busy with real life stuff). I do also allow time to get them right, like using temporary eyes or wigs if the right ones arrive later than the doll, or if it's a hybrid and both pieces don't get here at the same time, or I had to buy a piece immediately or miss my chance and haven't saved up enough for the rest yet. Depends on circumstances for sure. But if I have the full doll and their parts and accessories home, yet I'm not motivated to get them finished immediately....there's usually a reason. If I'm going to click with a doll, I'm usually very excited and eager to finish them very quickly.

 

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