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Our Strange Addiction?

Feb 10, 2011

    1. So, the typical, if this has already been done, blah blah blah. Delete it if need be!

      I just wanted to get some opinions regarding our dolls- are you addicted to BJD's?

      The show, My Strange Addiction (not sure if it airs outside the US) followed the story of a man named Davecat who was addicted to a real doll. Although BJD's are used for a widely different purpose, he cared for the doll and talked to her, changed her clothes and wigs and bought her stuff. He had a name for her and carried her. At first I thought it was creepy, but then I realized that I do many of those same things to my Luna, and things that many other doll owners do.

      Thoughts?


      (Yes, I realize that not everyone talks to their doll and actually cares for them on a deeper level like other ball jointed doll owners.)
       
    2. I think addicted is too strong a word for it; those are all normal things that fit under the idea of playing with dolls. When doing those things with your doll (s) becomes something that you just can not get through the day without doing and you're neglecting important people, commitments, and other responsibilities then you have a problem.
       
    3. Addiction is definitely not the word for it. I don't think there is many (if any) people here that are that desperate for their dolls to be their or that have such a strong need to get new dolls that it makes them feel bad if they don't.
      The majority of people play with their dolls, dress them and most people talk to them in one way or another. It's justy a way to enjoy the hobby tho, and in 99% (fictional percentage obviously) of the cases it's not in an unhealthy way.
       
    4. I did watch that. As far as addicted to bjds, I'm not totally sure. I'd say I collect them and they are my hobby, but I wouldn't use the word addicted (I don't think). That's my opinion though, I could see how it would be easy for a non-doll person to say addicted though, with the amount of money a person will put into this hobby.

      (also, YAY! another MCR fan! Sorry, I'm easily distracted.)
       
    5. No, not addicted. Collecting BJDs (and the online community that goes with it) is my favorite hobby, but it isn't an addiction.

      As for Davecat, and his relationship with his Real Doll Shidore, it goes beyond what the majority of BJD owners experience. Davecat considers himself Shidore's husband, is not interested in a "organic" girlfriend/wife, and he even got matching wedding bands for himself and Shidore! The dude is completely fascinated with the concept of gynoids. Not anything wrong with that though!
       
    6. I may joke about being addicted to bjds, but it's not meant seriously. I'm involved with dolls because it's enjoyable, I treat my dolls the way that I do, because.. that's just the way I am, and it facilitates said enjoyment. My dolls do not negatively impact my life in anyway -- they don't hurt my relationships, damage my health, or keep me from my responsibilities. An addiction suggests a behavior that can't readily be stopped -- something that becomes compulsive. I do not feel that my relationship to dolls fits into that at all.
       
    7. I would say that I'm an avid collector, but not addicted. I will admit that I'm addicted to spending countless hours on the internet looking at dolls and their accessories when I should be doing useful things like cleaning house.
       
    8. I would say that some are addicted, to be honest. To most of us it is just a fun hobby that we enjoy, but it really does get unhealthy for some people. When you stop paying for other things you need more, such as bills and things, then it becomes more of an addiction/unhealthy problem, I think.
       
    9. I feel like it's conditional. The people that don't pay rent, are in debt, or are suffering socially/mentally because of their dolls could consider it an addiction.

      Like the show often says, if it starts to damage their life, that's when it becomes a problem. There was an episode with a girl that was a "furry" and her parents were scared it was damaging her social life. When she proved that it is actually enriching it, they called it a hobby, not an addiction ><
       
    10. I don't think any of us here have that sort of relationship with our dolls- just because you take care of something, doesn't mean that you have replaced human contact with it. Little girls dress barbies and do their hair- are they addicted? Not just due to that, no. I own dolls yes, and I plan to own quite a few of them, but that doesn't mean that I don't want human relationships and am using them as a sort of emotional sink. Look up the Webster or Oxford definitions of "addiction" if you're concerned, but there's a lot more to it then just collecting something and participating actively in a hobby.
       
    11. I love my dolls as objects and project personalities onto them, particularly when I am thinking up costumes for them. I think of them more as an escape even than a hobby, a way of not working, which is something you need when you are self employed and work from home. I can't imagine being obsessed by anything inorganic to be honest. And when you think about it, even though it's often just online, it's a pretty sociable hobby :)
       
    12. I like to joke (not uncommon in geeks) about being obsessed and addicted to whatever I'm really into, but I don't think I actually am. I do use DoA to procrastinate, which is something I need to work on, but it's not really affecting my livelihood etc. And I do have some dolly debt, but I don't actually consider that a sign of addiction. Impulse buying, probably. Dolly addiction? Not really.

      Quite frankly, if I didn't have DoA and BJDs, I'd be using other things to distract myself/procrastinate. That's just how I roll :sweat.
       
    13. I like to say I'm currently obsessed with my BJD and the want to get more BJDs, but I don't think it technically counts as obsession until someone starts skipping out on rent payments and bills and such to support their dolls.

      I, personally, love to give my doll a personality and talk to him and take him with me around the house to keep me company, but he's more of a muse or work of art that I can have fun with than something that my life revolves around, even though he currently owns my soul >3>
       
    14. Oh man! I had thought about this kind of thing, too!

      I don't think the majority of people here have such a deep attachment to their dolls (or at least those who might shy away from saying so). Yeah, we dress them up, and give them their own little backstories, but I consider that a really fun thing to do. It just adds more dimension onto something; a history.

      I don't consider my doll my daughter, a little sister - not really a 'friend', either. She's a doll, but she's valuable on a deeper level than say... my lamp. I'd be sad and annoyed that my lamp broke or was stolen, but I didn't spend a lot of time interacting with it. All I do is turn it on when I enter a room.

      If my doll broke, or was stolen, it would sadden and frustrate me. A lot of work went into making my doll the way she is now - the saving process, the waiting, the customizing. There's a lot of effort on my part, and something happened to take away all of that. That's upsetting.

      The guy on MSA, I think, was different; you could tell that he was delusional about who this doll was in relation to him. This doll was considered his wife. The doll replaced a part of his life. As long as you don't think your doll is actually your kid, or insist that your kids should treat it like a sibling, or treat them like actual people - which I really don't think we're doing, or at least not doing it to such an extent - then you're not in the same boat.

      As long as your doll isn't your husband, or actual boyfriend, I think you're still relatively sane. And also, you're probably fine if you don't insist other people see your doll as you do. Sure, they're your doll, and you value them, and it's ok to want people to see you value them - just don't ask them to refer to him as your SO or BF...
       
    15. timid wrote
      ..aand that sums it up for me!
       
    16. I have heard an interview with Davecat in which he talked about the process of saving up for and choosing Sidore, and of developing her personality. The interview was remarkable because the interviewer thought it was strange that she had such a developed personality. All I could think of was how I had seen the same thing here when people are waiting for their dolls. He does have friends and a job and goes out and all that. Calling his relationship an addiction is just a way of judging someone different than you. Addictions are different things entirely.
       
    17. I am addicted to the art of these dolls. I need more because I enjoy taking photos of them and get bored with shooting pics of one doll. But, yeah, they definitely do not take the place of my husband or kids! I enjoy them and I guess this doll addiction is better than drugs or alcohol!!!! ;)
       
    18. Well I don't talk to my dolls, carry them around, or think of them as alive in any way and they spend at least 90% of their time sitting there looking pretty so no I'm not worried about being addicted.
       
    19. Errr...This topic hits my head :/ ....
      I was still denying the fact that I have been talking that much to my dolls...I mean,right now most of them are in their boxes because the room I am temporary staying in is pretty small ,no space for everyone to get out.So one or two will take turns to come out of the box and I'll hug them to my dream XD...............My mom didn't see it but my sister,who owns a Sha sometimes noticed that I will say something to my doll....Especially the ones I pampered the most @[email protected] them " I'm home boy~!",greeting them or so @[email protected] said I gave her a feeling that I'm not just purely playing with dolls but to a crazier extent.....
      I don't know :/
      Maybe one day if my dolls turned into human XD....Then I won't be saying a word,probably too busy staring at so many hawties *nosebleed*
      but somehow I do wish that they can transform :/
       
    20. I think I kinda get where you're going. I have a tendency to become very obsessed with certain tv shows or book series to the point of I'm breathing it, dreaming it and writing bad fanfiction about it :doh The BJDs have just given me another wait to personify my obsession. Currently I have a Kirk and Spock as well as Rose Tyler from Doctor Who and I have the Tenth Doctor on the way. I'm also planning characters from Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Phantom of the Opera, and, most recently, Merlin. So yeah, I'd say I'm obsessed if only because it's fallen into my other obsessions. :sweat