Stuffed Animals + Anxiety

@HelloItsMel I have quite a few cuddlies. I have major attachment to some of them, due to who gave them to me. I think it's more having something to hold. I can't sleep unless I have a cuddly or a human in bed with me. I only see my boyfriend at weekend cos we both work, so mainly I have cuddlies. Sometimes I get the impulse to take them outside with me in the car. Or when I'm alone at night I'll have them in my lap. I think it's a comfort thing, but I am a fellow adult who relies on stuffed toys

@Poppytree I agree with you. I also just started college and I brought some stuffed toys with me to my dorm. For me, I just feel safer with them and it gives me some sense of comfort since I have something to hug.

@HelloItsMel I have several stuffed animals I take to bed and I have one special one I keep in an anxiety box I made. That has a blanket,sweat shirt, journal, stuffed animal, music player and silly putty! They all help with my anxiety.

@SaraLynn3004 That's a great idea! Maybe I should make one of those

@HelloItsMel

Hi!

I think what you're looking for is the link between stuffed animals and attachment.

When we are younger and dealing with issues (whether it's big or small) and we're feeling anxious (or emotional in anyway) we look for that attachment and security. Most of the time that's with our parents/caregivers, but it can also be with stuffed animals. Like how people have their 'security blanket'. It's that sense of safety, security and predictability (it will always be there).

As we get older we usually learn that we can find ways to regulate and soothe ourselves in other ways - like being able to talk about things, breathing exercises, stuff like that. The better that we get at soothing ourselves the more we start to let go of that need from immediate comfort of either finding our stuffed toys or grabbing onto our parents.

If for some reason we aren't always able to self-soothe or maybe our parents aren't always there to find that comfort, that's when people tend to hold onto stuffed animals and things longer.

There's nothing wrong with it and it certainly doesn't mean that you're dumb; it just means that maybe you aren't quite ready to let it go just yet.

Hope this answers your question!

@romanticthi3f that's a good connection I didn't think about! I am going through a kinda emotional time rn which just makes my anxiety act up (and I am no good at dealing with emotions). There's not many people where I live that I feel close with either. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense!

Thanks for the replies everyone! Wow I didn't know that others still like stuffed animals too. I'm a liiitle bit of a hoarder so I figured that's why I have all of mine still lol. Now I don't feel weird for having them :)