Stuffed animals and other comfort items

[Goose]

As a 27 year old adult, I still sleep with dolls, stuffed animals, and comfort blankets. I have various stuffed animals and objects that bring me comfort. My all time favorite is a Sephiroth plushie that I've had since I was 13; he's been with me everywhere. Hospital, school, Hawaii, everywhere! He's dirty and ugly, and I don't usually take him outside of my room unless I'm sleeping somewhere else for that night, but I love him and he's probably the one item I'd rescue from a fire if I could only save one object. Currently, my big comfort item that i carry around the house is a bright yellow bootleg pokemon blanket that came stuffed inside an equally bootleg Jigglypuff plushie that I ordered from Singapore-- I was lucky to get two. The other one is in a Snorlax plush! I like to tie it around my shoulders like a cape to keep me warm as I don't have any reason to wander the house in anything other than my pajamas.


What was your favorite stuffed animal/toy/comfort item as a child? Do you still have a stuffed animal/toy/comfort item that you still turn to for comfort when you're distressed?

[Mama Bear]

As a toddler, my toy of choice was a blue elephant aptly named Blue Elephant. My daughter has one (ladybug pillow pet whose tag she strokes for comfort) but my son doesn't. As an adult, it strikes me as very odd to have a continuing requirement for a comfort toy. That is not to insult or belittle those adults who do, but my own experiences find the suggestion to be foreign to my sensibilities. My natural reaction was very much:



Not in that I rely on my husband to sleep, but that the things which are impressive or cool as a child are the same things we typically grow out of with time.

[Stardew]

I feel like for people with anxiety, depression, autism, mental or physical health problems, etc. or just because they like it... a comfort object is one of the least harmful ways to cope with certain things. Weighted blankets, weighted plushies, soft stuffed animals... you do you!

I also feel like our generation (millennials, assuming most people here fall in that generation) are very much of the "I liked this as a kid, I'm not a totally new and different person now that I'm an adult, and I still like this, so why the hell not" mindset. If it's not harming anyone, and you like it, then... why not?
Lots of people our age seem to enjoy more "childish" hobbies like collecting action figures, dolls, Lego, plushies, and other things like that with no shame! Lots of people still sleep with stuffed animals, too. (though some are more embarrassed about it than others... haha)

I personally have kept some of my favorite stuffed animals from when I was a child and I could never throw them away. I don't sleep with them, but I can hug one if I'm having a bad day and I think there's nothing wrong with that.

[Goddammit]

I feel like for people with anxiety, depression, autism, mental or physical health problems, etc. or just because they like it... a comfort object is one of the least harmful ways to cope with certain things. Weighted blankets, weighted plushies, soft stuffed animals... you do you!

I also feel like our generation (millennials, assuming most people here fall in that generation) are very much of the "I liked this as a kid, I'm not a totally new and different person now that I'm an adult, and I still like this, so why the hell not" mindset. If it's not harming anyone, and you like it, then... why not?
Lots of people our age seem to enjoy more "childish" hobbies like collecting action figures, dolls, Lego, plushies, and other things like that with no shame! Lots of people still sleep with stuffed animals, too. (though some are more embarrassed about it than others... haha)

I personally have kept some of my favorite stuffed animals from when I was a child and I could never throw them away. I don't sleep with them, but I can hug one if I'm having a bad day and I think there's nothing wrong with that.

As someone who has major anxiety, depression and insomnia, I canNOT recommend weighted blankets enough.

[Erik.]

As someone who has major anxiety, depression and insomnia, I canNOT recommend weighted blankets enough.

I actually like weighted blankets, though it's because I was used to it as a kid. At one time, we didn't have normal duvets but instead we had a bed sheet and wool blankets. In the winter it sometimes got so cold I had like 4 wool blankets on me and those things get really heavy then. I didn't like it back then but now it reminds me of happy memories I guess.

[Zapdos]

Interesting thread idea!

I have a stuffed Russ Berrie cat that I got as a 9 year old from Grace Brothers. It sat in my cupboard for years, never used up until a few years back when I went through an extremely rough patch, and suddenly it came out again. This may seem overstated, but this plushie helped save my life. I finally allowed myself to have a comfort item (too much shame as a child), and it came with me on my long recovery. Now it sits on my bed, and I give it a cuddle when I'm feeling very overwhelmed or lonely.

Crazy how inanimate objects can become so special for so many!

[Ice]

I have an unending plethora of plushies. Most are primarily kept for collecting purposes (my massive Squishable collection) or simple nostalgia, but when I was a kid I mainly slept with a blankie and this white polar bear plushie I named Panda. (Because when I got it I was in a bad mood and we went to a restaurant and the wooden chopstick wrapper had a panda logo on it why do I remember this so vividly)

Now as an adult I have a lot of plushies still scattered around my bed (and I do say around bc mfkers can't stay on top without rolling off) but I usually only rely on them for comfort if my hub isn't around to grab onto. XD

[Erik.]

Lots of Pok�mon plushies I see <3 Myself, I still have my white cat plushie I used to sleep with as a toddler. His name is "Poekie", from the Tale of Tom Kitten (whom is called Poekie Poes in Dutch). He's usually on my bed, though I banish him to my closet when I have a date sleeping over. I also still have an old hare plush I bring with me every time I move, and I have this plushie toy that was my late cat's favorite (she carried it wherever she went), who died really young so I just can't let go of it... I used to have lots of plushies when I was younger, me and my sister had four moving boxes full of them. We gave a lot to our dog later lol

Edit: Oh reading @(you need an account to see links) ' post about the Rush Berrie plush just brought back a memory when I got another white cat plushie (I think it was also a Rush Berrie) from a friend when I was 7 or 8 and I wanted it and Poekie to be brothers or a couple and played with them all the time, until a week later my mom discovered the other plushie and threw it away because it was "dirty". Needless to say my heart was broken (I didn't know better as a kid but my mom was a germophobe. She could've just washed it but then again there were lots of weird things we had to do and endure).

- - - Updated - - -

I have an unending plethora of plushies. Most are primarily kept for collecting purposes (my massive Squishable collection) or simple nostalgia, but when I was a kid I mainly slept with a blankie and this white polar bear plushie I named Panda. (Because when I got it I was in a bad mood and we went to a restaurant and the wooden chopstick wrapper had a panda logo on it why do I remember this so vividly)

Now as an adult I have a lot of plushies still scattered around my bed (and I do say around bc mfkers can't stay on top without rolling off) but I usually only rely on them for comfort if my hub isn't around to grab onto. XD

A polar bear plushie called Panda is incredibly cute :3

[glittery]

I have an unending plethora of plushies. Most are primarily kept for collecting purposes (my massive Squishable collection) or simple nostalgia, but when I was a kid I mainly slept with a blankie and this white polar bear plushie I named Panda. (Because when I got it I was in a bad mood and we went to a restaurant and the wooden chopstick wrapper had a panda logo on it why do I remember this so vividly)

Now as an adult I have a lot of plushies still scattered around my bed (and I do say around bc mfkers can't stay on top without rolling off) but I usually only rely on them for comfort if my hub isn't around to grab onto. XD

I freaking love Squishables omg
I submitted a design to them actually for their open source contest but was rejected xD
how do u display yours?

[Ice]

I freaking love Squishables omg
I submitted a design to them actually for their open source contest but was rejected xD
how do u display yours?

so re:too many plushies problem, when I moved into my current place I desperately needed a better way to store/display my stuffed animals and for the bulk of them, including my squishables, I opted for getting 2 sets of shelves like these (except I got lower and longer version) to hold them lol. (you need an account to see links)

I haven't bought a new squishable in years but I collected the sea creatures! For the full sizes I have the original killer whale/orca, original shark, original octopus, jellyfish, crab, stingray, baby seal, and a pumpkin (lol). And then minis I have 2 lobsters, 2 octopuses, the whale shark, and a snow bunny. xD

Ooh I remember seeing a bunch of really cool designs come out of the open squish project! Sorry to hear yours was rejected D: