Losing Interest In BJDs?

I think these feelings come naturally with any hobby, really. There are times where I'm really into stamp collecting then I don't do anything with it for years. Then something triggers it again (another cool stamp, rediscovering unfinished projects, etc). Same thing with my other hobbies that have nothing to do with BJDs. Likewise, there are times where I'm on Den of Angels at all hours for days/weeks/months at a time and then I just stop depending on what life throws at me. Same thing with my dolls. I go through periods where I pick a few to hang out with me and I craft/sew/buy something for them, play with them (dress them, do photo shoots, write stories), maybe even go on an outing with them (pre-pandemic) in a public place, but other times they just sit where I last left them gathering dust. I have a friend that goes back and forth with the hobby with anywhere from months to years inbetween of not doing anything with BJDs/DoA then getting back into it again then off again. It's very cyclic I think for us.

The whole negative association thing is so totally real. I myself for the first time haven't really bonded with a new doll and I am realizing it's because I have guilt over how much I paid for her. She's a secondhand doll and I usually am a first owner or get limited editions that are usually worth the secondhand market costs. Even though she was on my Grail list for a few years, I think it's because I saw another one go on sale for less around the same time and I felt bad about paying higher even though I technically got more with her (full set, provenance/proof that's she's legit, all accessories, default/no modding, etc). It's getting easier with time, but I have known other BJD owners sell even Grail dolls from their collection if there were any negative association with them (health problems, traumatic events, financial costs, reminder of exes, etc).

Sometimes, changing things up a bit helps. Like giving a doll a new wig, outfit, eyes, shoes, and/or face-up if you really feel a negative association with one for whatever reason. Or maybe do things with the doll that creates happy memories like watching comedies with it or hanging out/video calling loved ones with it. Over time, whether changing it's look or creating happy memories with it will create more positive associations with it. And if the negative feelings are still there, nothing wrong with stopping the hobby for a while or selling the doll. Do what's right for you, that's all that matters.

 

I have been inactive for something like... 4-5 years at this point. Other than occasionally seeing something on the marketplace I can't resist, I don't actually do much with my dolls. I have a bunch waiting for clothes. My Follshe David has been needing his wig finished for 6 years...
I have some very old orders from Dollshe coming in and I'm trying to get back into the hobby so that I can try to feel some love for them and get them some eyes/wigs/clothes.
Instead of just having them sit on a shelf for 6 years waiting.

I'm not sure what would make me feel involved again. Though I know I miss taking photos with my partner and making stories and such.

Maybe someday that spark will come back.

I have thought of selling them many times. But every time it comes down to it I just can't bear the thought. I loved them all for such a long time. I guess I'll just keep hoping.

 

I was pretty uninterested in the hobby during the pandemic (I think because my mental health wasn't the best) but very recently I've fallen back in love with the hobby and even purchased a new doll (With plans to buy bodies for my floating heads) as my mental health improved I was able to find joy in the things I loved once again ❤️

 

That is just natural with any hobby really where you have moments of disinterest but become interested in it once again.
Me personally I started becoming interested in BJDs once more recently after I commissioned my FFXIV character into a 11cm doll. Now I want to shell him to a bjd!

 

My interest slowly returned after an almost 5 year hiatus. I'm glad I didn't sell any of my dolls, but unfortunately not all of them are with me now.
In any case, I like my old-fashioned stylized dolls even more now - my taste has not changed.
What has changed is that for some reason I didn't want to take as many photos as I used to. Just enjoy the doll being displayed and do some crafts. So the interest is back, but the details have changed.

 

I've been disinterested in my bjds lately. I think it's because, to me, my dolls are very closely tied to a place where I was happy. I haven't been able to spend much time there for three years and I've been pretty down as a result. I'm also a little short on space at the moment so most of my dolls are in storage.

It is what it is.

 

Spaces are now limited to me, so most of my dolls are packed away only few of my favorite are out. Since then I have only look and admire them, overtime forgotten they are there. Till I was down and depress, I pick up my grail doll and lost in my happy world with her. She restart my interest in BJD again. She make me happy and worry free, I can imagine life without my girls. Love them so much.

 

Well I was on bjd hiatus for many years and after the last house move I decided to do a good old konmari on my doll collections (the fashion doll, the figurines, the action figures , big childlike , the bjd etc ) . I first set up a goal of how I want my bedroom where I store all my dolls to look like I also used an app to see and visualise the concept I used RoomPlanner app for that. I then slowly put arround the shelf units and started experimenting with which dolls to be displayed etc ... as I don't have a real spare time to do this it takes time but it works step by step I started separating the dolls I'm keeping to those I'm parting with and place the dolls on the shelves dressed and pretty ... I have way to go but now most of fashion dolls like rainbow high monster high barbie have been dealt with the ones kept and the ones sold or given away , childlike big ones too so I have half the shelves decorated properly and most of the dolls that wasn't to be used got away and left valuable space behind. Next step for me are the bjd's and Ellowyne , I already have a deal to sell with layaway some of my dolls to a friend who had asked for them if those ended up to the go away list. So that's how I deal with my hiatus , a clean and tidy and properly decorated collection is one I enjoy a chaotic one not so much so my way is minimize when it becomes overwhelming and keep it pretty displayed on shelves if it's not pretty and decoative it will lose the allure for me in matter of days.

 

I was so meh with bjds 2-3 years ago I almost left the hobby, but when I started picking up my dolls to sell them, I realized how much I enjoyed them. I wound up selling almost all my dolls and only keeping the ones that sparked an interest. Then, about a month ago or so, I felt like I might as well sell my dolls and leave the hobby again because I felt nothing for them. I wound up leaving my job recently and discovered I was actually just really, really burnt out and could only think about work and feeding myself.

I think sometimes you lose interest, and sometimes you just have no space in your life anymore for things you enjoy. If it's the latter, you really, really need to figure out how you can release some stress or make some space for what you can. It's hard, especially if you're at the point where you don't really feel anything anymore, but you can get back to joy again.

 

My interest in most of my hobbies tends to come and go, so I kind of rotate through them, really. I've taken some long breaks from ~the hobby~ so to speak, but the dolls are always around and even when my strong interest wanes, I'll pick them up here and there.

 

My primary interests tend to wax and wane, but I'd never say I've fallen "out of love" with bjds or ever taken an intentional hiatus. Typically, something happens to remind me of dolls, and I'll get fervently back into the community again. Right now it's having my own income for the first time in my life, so I can make doll-related decisions without having to scrounge and save.

 

As others have said, hobbies often cycle in waves for me.

I speculate that this has something to do with the fact that I'm a moody creative type and I tend to fixate on whatever has sparked my particular single-minded interest on a given week. I'll go really hard for a few months on BJDs, then get sidetracked by Blythes, then get an itch to crochet a bag or a blanket, then write fanfiction and crank out 100k words in a few weeks, then cross stitch a new piece, so on and so forth. At this point, I am comfortable saying I always cycle back to my dolls eventually, so feeling the "waning interest" doesn't stress me out so much as it lets me know I need to expend my creative energies elsewhere for a while.

I'm in a bit of an odd place with my dolls at the moment, as we are sort of between living situations and my collection is packed away accordingly. I've been spending a significant amount of time thinking about them and making plans, but I'm not in a position to actually do anything until we buy and move into our next house. Most of my various crafting supplies are also in storage, so it's not like I can distract myself with my other hobbies, either! Very frustrating all the way around.

If you find yourself losing interest, pack your dolls away for a while and see how you feel. Give it a couple of months or so, so you see them with fresh eyes when you unbox them again. It's okay to part with a hobby that no longer brings you joy, but it's also okay to put a hobby on ice for a few months or even many years before you return to it.

 

I have a handful of hobbies besides my dolls but I can't say they have felt cyclical for me, but more like a sequence of events that culminate at some point and the outcome is what decides if the thing becomes a hobby of mine or not at all (or a doll for that matter, cause in this particular hobby the sequence also applies to dolls individually for me). Let me explain better:

1. A honeymoon period, the beginning of the journey, when I am very active, get to know everything, likes/dislikes, dreams and wishlists, the overall initial hype. For dolls, the first purchases and investigation, participating as a newbie in the forum, getting to know the fellow hobbyists, and how the hobby works, etc.
   
2. A peak period, when I already know everything I wanted to know and the things start to calm down. In this phase, it's mainly learning how the hobby can coexist with 'normal life' and what do I want to do with it. In the case of dolls, getting a crew/family I like and I getting them everything they need to be enough and usually sharing them online.
3. A resting phase, and this is the tricky part but also the best part for me and that realization took me too long to discover. In this phase, two things can happen:

• If I fall out the hobby (a.k.a. loose interest) it is because it was not meant for me and it's unlikely I'll return to it, and so I will sell stuff without remorse and go on with my life. It has happened to me that I felt like I was not interested anymore but it was because the peak period hadn't yet finished and I wasn't happy with what I had home but I was pushing for it to be because of 'reasons' but when I thought of selling I would feel physically ill.
  
• If I'm still on board, I get to enjoy the hobby at my own pace, being as active as I want to be and nothing more, though it may take some trial an error. I still purchase stuff, and even dolls, on this phase, that may spark a small version of the sequence for themselves, but it won't affect my overall activity within the hobby. And I'll likely remain moderately passionate about it for eternity.

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All that said, I think I'm kind of weird cause I've gotten to be pretty happy with what I think is the lowest level of doll-activity possible (thought that was something that haunted me in the past). That means I won't handle my dolls for weeks but they'll always be on sight and on my mind because I still enter the forum and read stuff and comment, I still follow other doll owners on IG, I still write about their characters and such, but that's it.

 

My interests overall come and go, but I always have a strong love for a past interest. And honestly dolls have been my longest interest so far. I lost interest on them for like... 7 years? But I gor back to them. And honestly I think I will always come back to them.

 

a little update, it's been 4 years and I suddenly rediscovered my love for this hobby and now I'm super excied about it again! I'm so close to ordering a Doll Chateau, hopefully the excitement will still be there after the wait time and not the same situation as 4 years ago. If I do lose interest again I guess I'll just have to wait another 4 years until I love it again lolol.

As others have mentioned, I think interests in hobbies truly do come and go. And it's so fun when they're there again

 

I think it is totally normal for your interest to come and go! Especially if you've had recent life changes that take up a lot of time.

When I find myself losing interest, I try to focus on my doll-adjacent hobbies. For example, if I am really enjoying knitting, I will try knitting my girls an outfit. This way, I am still engaging with them but focusing on a different hobby that brings me joy.

I also start bringing my dolls around the house with me! Even if I am not "actively" playing with them, just having them near helps build / solidify the bond.