Mental Health and the BJD Hobby

I too suffer with depression. I've had it from early childhood. As a teen I also started having panic attacks which were completely debilitating. It all culminated in a total nervous breakdown at age 18.
My breakdown lasted for one year. I won't go into detail about how I got out of that mental state, but I did it on my own. I went to college, graduated from uni and had a fulfilling career in a very creative (but not very lucrative) field.

I've always collected dolls of some sort. I discovered BJDs at just the right time in my life. On 2011 I was at a very low point, after being diagnosed with cancer. Friends helped me get through that, but also I discovered that my BJD dolls would give me a sense of peace and comfort and centering. My depression and panic disorder came back during my ordeal, but instead of having a breakdown this time, I found comfort in my dolls and was able to get through it.

I also credit my Christian faith with helping me to survive the depression. My dolls plus my faith in Jesus.. I would not have survived mentally without them.

 

@ParlourGoddess - I know what you mean about the support of faith. Although I haven't suffered from depression in the same way as you describe, I've been through some very, very dark times in my life and believing that God can bring good even out of the worst pain kept me (and my loved ones) sane.

As far as dolls go, I'm curious to see how my relationship to dolls develops over the future. Right now I don't have any "completed" dolls (poor things are all blank and nameless) so I see them more as projects than as characters right now. They don't really provide a comfort except in the sense that all my creative pursuits (writing, art, embroidery, etc.) give me something to focus on when I'm anxious. I would like to have them embody characters that mean something to me, though! So I'll see how things go over the next few years as I can afford faceups, can make them clothes/wigs/etc.

 

Do you have names in mind for any of them?

You can do a face up with chalk or water color pencils and a decent quality set will help your art and your dolls.

 

@DollyKim - I love names (I have a huge collection that I've gathered to name characters in stories) so I have a lot of names to choose from, it's just a matter of seeing what character develops as I make clothes, wigs, etc. for the particular doll. One of them has a placeholder name (Tatiana/Tanya, after a porcelain doll I loved as a child) and I have some ideas for the other ones. One of them might be a character I'm developing, but it depends on whether I can find her a body that works.

I would like to get faceups for them someday, but I don't mind them being blank for now - they look like beautiful statues. But you're right, it might be fun to try giving them simple faceups myself!

So basically, them not being complete doesn't bother me. I used to get more anxious about dolls working as a hobby for me because I was so picky (I sell a lot of the dolls I buy), but I've become fond of at least two sculpts in person so I know that it is possible - it just takes time.

 

Don't get me started on finding bodies that work!

Tatiana is a lovely name, I have an OC named that and just watched a TV show with a princess Tatiana.

 

I really enjoy this topic because I have noticed before all the ways dolls are helping other people in the hobby as a therapeutic element.
I have been struggling with mental health issues since my early childhood, and really, it's not gone particularly well. I'm 34 now, and I have never received particularly helpful medical care or benefited from therapy and have been repeatedly misdiagnosed, mistreated by psychiatrists and lazily treated off label with hypnotics and sedatives because at least then I was too tired to complain as much. I have genuinely suffered long periods of psychosis from stress, and have been persistently depressed since childhood. Because somebody asked about eating disorders earlier I will say that I had a very difficult struggle with anorexia for about 13 years as a pre-teen to young adult. I behave differently now but I'm not ok with anything about my body and have an extremely difficult relationship with food and exercise.
My dolls have been the only thing, since I discovered this hobby at 22(?) That have provided any significant and constant help to me. I have heard plenty of people besmirch using this hobby and quite frankly anything as a coping mechanism or self help tool, but I think it's part of a misinformed idea that there is some guaranteed solution of therapy and medication that would help everyone to feel ok no matter what. Ideally people can help themselves and receive outside help but sometimes outside help just isn't there and people do what they can.
My dolls have become something very integral to my wellbeing and my life that has helped me to weather enormous hardship, process grief and trauma and help me to live with significant physical pain and depression. In respect to body dysmorphia/eating disorder I have actually found the hobby helped me by allowing me to shift my thoughts about physical beauty, fashion, and so on, away from self criticism and channel it into inspiration and excitement about styling dolls. Because I have had significant interpersonal trauma I also have subsisted for long periods of time on only the imaginary emotional relationships I have with my dolls when I am not able to have meaningful relationships with living people. I don't really want my coping to be so tied up in my activity with the dolls because I can see a lot of ways it will keep me from living the life I would like to live however I am grateful for the positive emotions and accepting of my current state of being, and there is always opportunity for more progress over time.

 

I went undiagnosed for a long time because I was young so they thought I was going through a "problem phase" when actually I was terrified to go to school. I'm surprised as how well I function these days because I used to stutter whenever I talked to someone, I was afraid to go to public places, and I wouldn't have been able to comment on online forums like this one because it gave me too much anxiety! On top of that, I had depression so it was even hard for me to get out of bed some days. With therapy and medication, the progress I've made in such a short time is amazing.
Anyways how this relates to bjds, I found that any hobby where I can express myself in some way is very therapeutic. I daydream, draw, occasionaly write, and now I'm creating characters with dolls! Art was actually a big component when I went to therapy. The therapy session was about three hours and some days we had an hour long session of doing arts and crafts. It has an effect like meditation and I think designing/playing with dolls have a similar effect. In my junior and senior year of high school, I was also enrolled in a class for kids with mental health problems. It had a maximum of 12 kids and you took all your periods in that one class (but they encouraged you to push out to general Ed classes). We also did arts and crafts once a week in that class. In both therapy and school, it was specifically called occupational therapy.
Anyways, I hope this wasn't too long. I just wanted to share my experiences! Also if you ever need help, don't be afraid to reach out to someone. There's lots of resources out there but you need to advocate for yourself. It's harder said than done but when you get proper help, it's amazing how much it can have a positive effect on your life! ❤️

 

so throughout my life ive been officially diagnosed with Major Depression, General Anxiety, and ADHD, I suspect i have autism too but i dont have the funs nor the resources to get officially dxed (and with the criteria changing soon its going to get even harder QAQ) but my dolls offer me comfort and a very nice creative outlet which as someone with adhd and who gets inside their own head a lot is very helpful! I've learned to crochet and I havent stopped making stuff for my doll since, its very relaxing when its not frustrating lol, its nice to have something tangeable to see that you made or helped make and i think thats what drew me to bjds. I can change them however i want and go "i did that!" or "I planned that!"having a tactile hobby really helps. They also give me something to focus on too with completing them or their stories...and i suck at focusing on things especially long term things.

 

@Forever We Are Young Did my sister move in to your house? Do you know about the psychological thing of 'projection' because that's what it sounds like. Everything she says is wrong with you is something she can't handle being wrong with herself. I had to stop everything with my sister because she shoved her own head so far up her patootie she was dragging the entire zip code down with her. She was given an ultimatum to stay in the household when things got very serious and guess who isn't here any more?

If you want to enjoy BTS then you enjoy the h*** out of them and don't let anyone take it away from you. Remind yourself what you liked about them in the first place. It can get better. Some long stories to that but if one of the singers I like can run on spite so can I.

 

Are dolls therapeutic for me? Yes! I find it very soothing to pick out a wig or dress them seasonally. It cheers me up.
Only on a few occasions have I been so depressed I don't do anything with them. But they are dolls so it's okay.

"Either inherently on their own, or the process of crafting, photographing, and customizing them individually?"; All of the above!
Is it escapism? At times, yes. But to me it's a much healthier escape.
Personally, it's the aesthetic and the fashion. I've always loved fashion and makeup and it's lovely to explore these things with dolls.
As far as fantasy mirroring reality goes, I like to pair them all up so that they always have a friend. I'm sure there's something psychological about that, but whatever. I think everybody needs a friend they can be themselves around, so that's probably why.