What role do dolls play in your life?

Dolls always attracted me, regardless of their shape and quality. And then I see really terrific creatures, naturally I wanted to buy myself this. So that for me - this is a very high-quality works of art, which I can admire now and at home.

 

They make me really happy and when I play with them it's stress relieving and fun. I also enjoy talking about it with one of my best friends and spend my free time browsing doll forums like doA and flickr photos! It's a really enjoyable, though expensive hobby but nothing beats buying new doll clothes or dolls ​

 

For me I think dolls help me put all my creativity into one outlet. There is so much to do with them, from sewing outfits to making props, there's just so much you can do for them. Before dolls I had a lot of crafty things I liked to do, but no real thing I could do with all of them if that makes any sense. now I have one thing to do with all of them. Man I hope that makes sense.

 

Much like the original poster I have OCD. I always leave one doll out of the case and mess with him, weather it's just posing him, brushing his hair or changing his outfit, at the end of the day to help unwind my brain so I can sleep. If noise builds to much in my head I stop and focus on my doll it really helps a lot. It's always funny what helps at times.
My dolls have helped unlock my creativity. I've learned to sew, do face-up and make polymer clay props.

 

My dolls help me a lot with my depression and social anxiety. I'm taking Sertraline but it does not help me as much as when I am dressing up my dolls. I also have a tough time in public talking to strangers so its just really nice to sit in my room and watch TV with my dolls.

 

I'm admittedly more on the "inanimate object" side of things, but mostly I see dolls as art inspirations! Something to always keep working on and not feel like I have to impress or appeal to anyone else. As sad as this sounds, working on doll customizing (faceups, wigs, clothes, eyes, etc) is the most consistently enjoyable and inspiring crafting/art I've done in years.

The finished dolls are actually sort of one of the least important aspects of the hobby to me (though of course they're still super important) but they're still a constant reminder of how much I could do/how far I've come.

 

My dolls are a creative outlet and they enable me to stay imaginatively engaged - which is hard to do at a desk job. Through them I realise stories I've written or concepts I've thought of. They're a bit like models in magazine editorials but the process of photography and art direction is on a smaller and more independent scale; I gravitate towards their aesthetics rather than the character-centric approach I think most doll owners take. I plan, build and design things for them in order to photograph them; it is a slow but satisfying process, from looking at them to experimenting with light/shadow, angles and colour. This hobby has motivated me to learn many things, from photography to sewing and set design, all of which I have a slight interest in but would never have gone knee-deep in them without my dolls. I got my first doll to spur me on to discover how cameras worked and what I could do with them. However, their price, poseability and customization potential have been a challenge to live up to - I sometimes feel I own something whose potential I haven't begun to fully realise and utlilise (it's the same with a DSLR), but I'm constantly driven to learn and improve.

 

they are a very intense hobby, i would spend all of my time on them if possible and i would say they are more than a toy to me

 

I have OCD too and dolls are helping me relax a lot having them on a shelf unit and looking at them is just relaxing and healing to me .It's like focusing on something static and stable when everything else seems chaotic and fuzzy

 

Dolls are truly therapeutic for me too because, when I have too many things in my head, just having them around, cuddling them or posing them near makes me feel a lot better. Besides that, they're an opportunity for me to both give a physical form to characters I've created in written fiction and also have an excuse to write more fiction so I would say they also spark my creativity in a lot of different ways. I don't consider them living things or a part of my family as for example I consider my cat, but they are definitely a great part of my life and so I consider them much more than simple toys.

 

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Dolls are a creative outlet for me; in one way I'm able to bring my characters "to life," and in another a way to explore fashion / costuming. I'm much too shy to go around parading in a red riding hood themed tutu, but I can dress my doll up in one, haha. Plus I'm a little too frugal to make an ornate costume I'd only be able to wear maybe once or twice a year, so dressing up my dolls it is!

 

dolls are a stable static thing that I can consentrate when everything arround get's too chaotic and calm me when I'm anxious , they also give me a boost of adrenaline to try crafting for them when I am catatonic and can't seem to do anything, they ground me and help me with depressive thoughts and also are an awesome hobby even without the above. this goes both for bjd and the rest of my dolls!!!

 

Dolls have been kind of a special interest of mine for, uh, forever? It runs in the family. My great-grandfather built an insanely detailed dollhouse that I thoroughly intend to inherit whenever I both have my own semi-permanent living situation and my parents are looking to downsize. I've always had a doll to craft for since I was about four or five years old. It's something I can really focus on and get excited about. It also helps that dolls have essentially zero connection to anything else in my life which makes them very safe when other stuff gets stressful.

Also I like having a doll or two around to look like they're listening when I need to think out loud about something. Makes me feel slightly less insane (while probably looking slightly more insane lol)

 

I started engaging with dolls again around the time my tinnitus got worse and it's helped me tune my attention away from the eeeeeeeee in my ears to ~*~doll thoughts~*~ instead. Which sounds silly, but somehow thinking what kind of shoes to get for them or planning out a new doll in my mind is a much better distraction to fall asleep to than any other trick. It works so I'm not questioning the method haha.

I feel I'm doing a terrible job at being a human normally, but the hobby has made me feel like a very successful adult, being able to give myself something I really really wanted to have as a teen. The 14-y-o me would be happy and proud I brought a dream to life (oop so corny ). What's the point of having grown-up money if you don't use it to afford past obsessions anyway?

 

My dolls are my victims

 

My dolls are somewhere between pets and art objects.

 

Dolls used to be a way to heal my inner child but now they are just my hobby. The hobby is relaxing for me though, definitely a little escape from reality when I have the time.

 

My dolls give me a new way to explore my ideas about life and people and express and my strong emotions in a creative medium. They give me some daily comfort and something nice to think about, like how you would somebody you care about or something you look forward to. They occupy my thoughts when I don't have anything else. They give me a surrogate feeling of companionship in a world where I can't really count on anybody for anything.

 

For me, my dolls are just kind of a way to relax. I bought them at a time when I felt like I was really out of control and they helped me kind of get back on my feet.