1. It has come to the attention of forum staff that Dollshe Craft has ceased communications with dealers and customers, has failed to provide promised refunds for the excessive waits, and now has wait times surpassing 5 years in some cases. Forum staff are also concerned as there are claims being put forth that Dollshe plans to close down their doll making company. Due to the instability of the company, the lack of communication, the lack of promised refunds, and the wait times now surpassing 5 years, we strongly urge members to research the current state of this company very carefully and thoroughly before deciding to place an order. For more information please see the Dollshe waiting room. Do not assume this cannot happen to you or that your order will be different.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Dollshe Craft and all dolls created by Dollshe, including any dolls created under his new or future companies, including Club Coco BJD are now banned from Den of Angels. Dollshe and the sculptor may not advertise his products on this forum. Sales may not be discussed, no news threads may be posted regarding new releases. This ban does not impact any dolls by Dollshe ordered by November 8, 2023. Any dolls ordered after November 8, 2023, regardless of the date the sculpt was released, are banned from this forum as are any dolls released under his new or future companies including but not limited to Club Coco BJD. This ban does not apply to other company dolls cast by Dollshe as part of a casting agreement between him and the actual sculpt or company and those dolls may still be discussed on the forum. Please come to Ask the Moderators if you have any questions.
    Dismiss Notice
Severe ongoing issues and concerns with Dollshe Dollshe Ban

Manic hobbyists? aka: the dangers of spending

Feb 7, 2013

    1. Insert usual disclaimer of not seeing this topic elsewhere and how the mods have free reign, of course.

      Do any of you suffer from clinical manic symptoms, and how does that affect your participation in this hobby?

      I'm gonna be straight up and admit that I'm Bipolar I with rapid cycling (and a whole lot more, but that's irrelevant). I'm on a very effective regimine and most people would never suspect my illness, but every now and then I feel the effects of a major swing rippling in the shallows when the medicine and training usually keeps it all far offshore. One of the symptoms of a manic swing is excessive, sometimes very irrational spending. Because of the price of BJDs, whenever I start looking into buying one (or two, or three, or all of them), I become very distressed. Is it just another manic swing? (scattered mind and fast speech say yes). So I hold off. I wait. I wait MONTHS, even if I'm aware that the dolll is limited. The more expensive or quantative the expected purchase, the longer I hold out chewing my nails and tripiple-guessing myself. Why? Because I don't know if it's the disease talking, and I don't want to fall to it.



      This hobby is expensive and addictive for anyone, and everyone should consider the expenses carefully. For those of you who have a mental disorder that affects your spending habits, though, how do you deal with being in a hobby like ours?
       
      #1 satoru, Feb 7, 2013
    2. I think I can be guilty of this...to a degree. I have a tendency to internet shop when I'm feeling depressed. It's a form of escapism & trying to make myself feel better, usually after a particularly difficult day at work. I can also get mildly 'fanatical' about hobbies for the same reason. I don't think escapsim is unheard of in dolly land ;)
      It doesn't have too negative an impact though. I earn decent money and bills etc. always take priority to any frivolous spending.
       
      #2 Em, Feb 7, 2013
    3. I can certainly sympathise with retail therapy, but manic spending is quite different. ;) Before therapy, I spent $300 on toothbrushes and hand towels in one day, needlessly. $300 USD. Toothbrushes. That's what I mean.
       
      #3 satoru, Feb 7, 2013
    4. I get this high and adrenaline rush out of shopping for sewing stuff (i.e patterns, fabric, thread, buttons, zippers, etc.). Especially getting a sale out of it like 50% off, blowouts, etc. So I have like 2 LARGE storage bins stacked to the brim with scrap fabric for my girl and I. And being a cosplayer doesn't help either
       
      #4 echo-chan713, Feb 7, 2013
    5. Are you a diagnosed manic? Are you the diagnosed victim of some other disease/disorder that affects spending habits? Do you do anything to control your spending? How do you deal (ie: cope?) with being in an expensive hobby knowing your illness's habits?
       
      #5 satoru, Feb 7, 2013
    6. Sorry, I didn't mean to trivialise your situation if that's how it come across.

      Merely commenting on how my illness, whilst not manic, can impact my spending.
       
      #6 Em, Feb 7, 2013
    7. I thought you were using 'depressed' casually, as many people do :S My bad. I've noticed that small unplanned purchases even during lows does help, so I can understand where you're coming from now. Do you find that you spend excessively during your lows in an attempt to offset your depression and maintain the temporary high? Are you able to control yourself and say 'that's enough' on time?
       
      #7 satoru, Feb 7, 2013
    8. No probs, I did state it rather flippantly :/

      I'm a lot better than I used to be. When I was in severe 'shut down' mode I would be quite obsessive about it and it was very much about the temporary high and blocking out anything to do with the real world. It's never about going out shopping either, it's tied more to insomnia and sitting on the internet in the dead of night.
      I'm in a much better place now, thanks to a number of reasons and I find the impulses easier to curb. I definitely go through phases though, my biggest warning sign is when it becomes obvious that I'm trying to hide it. Then I tell myself I need to back the f*** away from the computer.
       
      #8 Em, Feb 7, 2013
    9. I really don't want to go into a lot of personal details, but I do have manic phases that include a lot of spending, and BJDs are probably the most damaging to my bank account. Here's how I deal with it: I have some money put into a savings account, and it's set up so that I can't withdraw money from that account very often. I've only withdrawn money from the account once in the five years I've had it, and I've accumulated enough over the years to pay for most emergencies. The one time I withdrew money from it, I felt so guilty that I quit spending until I saved up the amount I'd withdrawn. Another more extreme method would be to put the savings in a relative's account so I couldn't access it at all. The relative would be instructed to only let me use the money for emergencies. Luckily, I haven't had to do that yet, but I've considered it. These methods would be worthless to anyone who doesn't have a chance to save, though.

      Also, I do cycle between hobbies, and some of them are rather cheap, so finances have a chance to recover. For instance, I may go into a phase of buying video games even though I have over 30 that I haven't played. But, video games are usually cheap (I rarely spend over $25 a game), so it doesn't matter much. I can't trigger the shift in hobbies unfortunately, though I have recently pinpointed exactly what leads to buying BJDs.
       
      #9 FrigidDamsel, Feb 7, 2013
    10. This is what I plan on doing. I have chronic/severe depression and generalized anxiety disorder, and I've been spending way too much money as of late. I also have been spending too much time crafting and not enough time studying. But yes, my symptoms are affecting my doll hobby. Even as I type this, I spend more money on my dolls. There are so many things I see that I want, and I think that owning these things will make me feel better. And it does, for a while. But this hobby doesn't really provide much instant gratification, since it's so global - we have to wait for things to be made, for things to ship, etc. So after making one purchase, I still feel unfulfilled and so then I make another. And another, and another, and so forth. Then I get anxious until things start arriving, and then it's just like Christmas. Then the entire cycle repeats.

      I'm in the process of recovering from my antidepressants ceasing to work last Novemberish, and switching to a new medication. I'm hoping that I can calm down once I'm entirely switched over, but for now, everything is just nuts. I guess at least my doll collection will be the better for it, but I really do need to open that savings account so I don't completely screw myself over.
       
      #10 Lolita, Feb 7, 2013
    11. Please keep in mind that threads on DoA must be doll-centered. While this topic is very interesting, it is much better suited for a personal blog.
       
      #11 sakuraharu, Feb 7, 2013