Dolls as stress relief?

[Aine]

I noticed something when I was talking to my mother the other night. We started talking about something that's really been stressing me out lately (my fiance is a foreign citizen, and all the headaches that entails), and the first thing I did was reach for Rina and sit her in my lap. I didn't realize until just now that that may be construed as a little strange. Surely I'm not the only one that does this?

[OkamiKodomo]

Well, I'm more likely to grab Alice, my giant plushie wolf, but I can totally understand the concept.

[EAB]

Heck, yeah, dolliehs are stress relief.
When I'm stressed out, even looking at pictures of dolliehs mellows me out. Thank you, Lord, for our beautiful dolls.

[MrKaffiend]

Even if not the dolls, the focused crafting involved for my dolls really mellows me out. Any hobby can be stress relief! I think the nature of BJDs, the dolls being more a character and something meant to be handled and played around with, not merely collected, adds to their ability to soothe our souls. :D

[Alopecia No Hime]

Haruka and Riven get cuddle sessions whenever I feel really stressed out. It just helps..I feel it melt away after holding them close for a bit.

[Iwa_Hoshi]

Same here. i like looking at them when I'm exhuasted from work. Which is I like to keep them in colorful cheerful costumes (or at least the ones that are not on a dark clothing project). I keep a pic of them in my desk but if that fails, there's always one doll in my bag to give me a mental break during lunch time or after work

[DollyKim]

Xavier blames my tears for making his wig stain his head :p So many times in life you just really need that "good doll".

[Jobee]

I agree, the girls have been a great source of stress relief for me. When I'm making something for them, or doing a photoshoot, I just forget about everything else. Also, I look at those pictures when I'm having a bad day at work. I don't really huggle them much, because they're 1/6th scale, and I have a hubby and a cat that are preferable for hugging, but I can still understand those who do. <3

[magkelly]

Totally normal. I used to go for my dolls when my parents scolded me when I was little and I got very upset even as an older child when my Mom decided I was too old for dolls and tried to get rid of the ones I had. I only had two Barbies and a couple of drink and wet dolls when I was a kid. My first doll got lost when I was like 2 and I got severely upset, cried and hardly ate for days. They got me another one to soothe me a few days later and I still have her actually. I was very attached to the few dolls I had and when they'd just vanish because my Mom was cleaning and didn't think I needed them anymore I'd practically go ballistic. Even now, you just don't touch my dolls or ELSE. My family comes over and they know they'd better ask before they go there. I let my nieces play with certain ones but otherwise I'm pretty protective.

I honestly believe that the reason I have hundreds of dolls now is because I didn't have the that many when I was little girl. I was totally dolly deprived when I was little and I just loved dolls. I can count on one hand the number of dolls I was allowed to have a kid and only two were my beloved Barbies. My Mom just didn't like them, particularly Barbies, and she didn't allow me to spend my money on them even when I had some. When I hit 10 she was like out with the Barbies you're too old now. Tried to throw them out behind my back. I never did find the ballerina (I still miss her, sniff!) But I managed to save my Malibu's head. Never did figure out where the body went though. I hid that head for years in a tin full of stuff for fear that she'd find it and get rid of Malibu completely, laugh.

I think that yen was always there, even once I became an adult. Dolls for some reason came to mean comfort for me at a really early age. Before I started collecting I'd walk by a shelf full of Barbies and I couldn't help but stop and look. But mostly I heard my Mom's voice in my head telling me I was too old for dolls and I just didn't go there. Until the Irish Princess. That was the Barbie doll that I just couldn't leave there on the shelf. I told myself "no" at least half a dozen times that day actually because she wasn't cheap and I was pretty broke that month. But by the end of the day I was back at that store, she was going home with me, and I've been hooked on dolls ever since.

I still run for the dolls when I'm stressed and I've been known to make the person stressing me out pay for it that way too. My folks totally tick me off? I take the copy of their credit card that I have with me and I head for Target. I buy myself a new Barbie and make them pay the bill. If someone in my family makes me really mad? They all know by now they'd better come bearing Barbies if they want there to be peace between us again. Ditto if they want favors, computer help or whatever. I'll usually help them out, but I get paid in dolls, grin....

[Trethowan]

Yeah, working on a photostory puts me in a mellow and silly mood. It's relaxing for sure.