For those on hiatus, who wish they weren't

I go off and on with the BJD hobby depending on life's circumstances for me and my husband at the time. Like, if we are both or one of us is working, in good health, and/or our extended friend/family circles are doing well, I find myself into the hobby, trying to do dolly things, socializing with fellow dolly enthusiasts, and general merriment. If one or both of us are not employed, our health isn't doing so well, and/or our friend/family circles are not doing so well themselves, it's harder to enjoy the hobby as there's a lot of internal and external stressors and honestly this hobby is on the expensive side as far as hobbies go.

I think too that I'm diverse and flexible in the way I approach my hobbies as that BJDs isn't my only hobby. My other hobbies range from not as into it as BJDs, about as equal to BJDs, or the other hobbies I would chose over or am more passionate about than BJDs as those hobbies are my primary or preferred hobbies. I find fulfillment in those hobbies and can circle back to BJDs anytime I want or simultaneously into multiple hobbies at the same time, but I'm not so far into BJDs that I am an addict and it consumes my life (which I've sadly seen some fellow BJD enthusiasts fall into).

To get a little serious here, for me BJDs is a hobby and I only consider it a hobby in what the definition of "hobby" means. But for others on here and elsewhere, BJDs are a legit addiction to them and for them. Addiction is SOOOO differently from being passionate about a hobby. Like, look at my dolly family list and you can see that yeah, I'm into collecting BJDs. Hahaha. It's a proper hobby. But I have seen those that say it is a hobby but if you look at what they say and do, BJDs have evolved into an addiction to them. Like, somehow, it is more socially acceptable to be addicted to dollies than something hardcore like drugs or alcohol. But if you see someone that is becoming obsessive with the hobby, that the hobby is interfering with their health, financially destroying them, isolating them, and hitting all the check boxes for addiction, I think a gentle check-in with that person should happen. Just like an addict with something else, maybe approach a BJD addict with a simple, "Hey, how are you? Are you doing okay? I care about you and worry about you" sort of thing. This is not to be a downer or anything, but I think it should be said that sometimes the BJD hobby can become a slippery slope for certain people, especially those with addictive personalities. So it's kind of good to not only check-in with others, but also do a deep dive with yourself as ask, "Am I addicted to this?" or "Is this evolving into an addiction?".

To get back to happier thoughts, do what gives you joy in this BJD hobby. That's the point of a hobby. You got into it because at some point it brought you joy. You can still enjoy a hobby even if you finances and health are not great. It just would look different compared to if your financial and health situations are in a better place. Like, I feel a good portion of us can remember our newbie phase of not even having a doll and just lurking on here and admiring and dreaming until we had one. And I'm sure a lot of us still remember the first doll. And of course, there is always "the Grail doll". Or the very first dollmeet. Then that familiar feeling of panic of "Oh no...I spent too much on dollies this year..." Hahaha. There's still a lot to look forward to in this BJD hobby. Hobbies are meant to be fun. If the BJD hobby is starting to stress you out, check-in with yourself, and see if a hiatus is what you need or not. A hiatus doesn't mean forever for everybody. It just means giving you time and space to re-evaluate, maybe save up, get healthy, or figure things out.

 

I was on hiatus until recently. I woke up one day and suddenly had this calling due to spiritual reasons. BJDs can be a hobby yes, but for me personally it can also be something sacred / spiritual.

That, and the fact that I am now stable enough to fund myself without any problem (goodbye gacha gaming!) - I also found it more worthwhile to spend on this hobby more than how I was spending on games before, which was part of the reason why I went on hiatus.

 

I am kind of getting out of a hiatus, but mainly it was because of finances, and now I am stable in my job, I am trying to get back in. I was good, it was a nice break, and I wasn't feeling so stressed out about looking out for dolls or pre-orders.

 

Not sure if where I'm at counts as a hiatus or just changing interests, but I've definitely taken a big step back from the hobby. My financial situation changed significantly and it made BJDs feel a lot more out of reach in general, not just the dolls but buying faceups, clothes, etc. My interests have also just shifted to other things that I'd rather spend my limited money on. I did a big move a couple of years ago and my BJDs have not left their boxes. I once felt that they were a fun way to express my OCs but I think the OCs I associated with them I'm not as connected to, either.

Not to say I don't still love BJDs, though! They're still really beautiful, and I love looking at everyone else's. Maybe it's also a bit because mine were never fully realized and all are at various levels of WIP that I couldn't admire them the way I do others' finished dolls. I've been thinking after I sell what I currently have I maybe go for something really small scale to still enjoy the hobby but not let it feel so overwhelming to make something beautiful that I put it off like before. I guess that how I'm trying to keep my interest alive is by easing myself back into it.

I'm not great at being social so I never really had much activity in the community or friends actively in the hobby, perhaps I wouldn't have fallen out so hard if I did, but I've also just been so busy that I'm not sure it would have mattered. Maybe in a decade when money ideally will be less of an issue, I can fully dive in again. But I also think I now understand a few things about myself as it relates to BJDs that I didn't when I first got into it and bought things, like how blank dolls feel almost intimidating when I actually get them, rather than blank canvases with unlimited possibility. I hope to one day be able to get dolls I can really enjoy again with knowledge like that in the future!

 

I took a long hiatus. During that time, my close friend group, who all had dolls, stopped hanging out, and my best friend and I, who basically got into this hobby together, stopped being friends.

Which was for the best at the time; we needed to be apart and grow. I, of course, took care of my dolls, but they stopped being taken out with me, and I also stopped coming here too. But after a while, my want to be back in the hobby grew, and my friend and I started talking again after almost eight years apart.

I've been back in full swing, tending to all my dolls. New wigs, eyes, and faceups. Being creative again and adding new additions.

I even took her dolls in as her husband finds them creepy. Which is fine as mine and hers intertwine with each other.

 

Honestly, I feel like I have been way more active and involved in the hobby now after coming back from a decade-long hiatus. There were a few layers as to why though:

1. Timing: I got into the hobby and got access to DOA when I was in middle school, so I was super young. I had a lot of things going on in school, I didn't have similar-aged friends (which mattered SO much as a kid) who were into BJDs (most of my similar-aged friends found any kind of doll creepy and were not afraid to speak out about it). I just felt like a weird kid and this was a closet interest for a number of years.

2. Shyness: I was a super introvert and preferred lurking on DOA threads, which made it hard for me to ask more questions or share my own thoughts and connect with other hobbyists. At the end of the day, the hobby made me feel quite isolated even though I was enjoying content and interactions I was seeing other hobbyists put up here,

3. Finances: Again, being in middle school, I was at an age where I was not financially independent and definitely had no disposable income or credit card of my own. Not only did I not have the finances, I would struggle to justify to my parents why I wanted such an expensive doll that takes 3-4, even 6 months to arrive for hundreds of dollars.

4. I was definitely more of a creative fountain back in my youth, but I had very little patience or capability to customize my dolls the way I wanted my OCs to be - again, a major obstacle was the financial aspect of everything, but YouTube tutorials were not super common back then and there weren't as many resources for BJD-specific DIYs back in the day (thank you LRB/Pinterest/Instagram/TikTok, etc)

All in all, no regrets for this long hiatus, I'm glad I came back to this hobby after so long!