Sleeping with stuffed toys

[Iamnotarabot]

All is the title.

I have 2 stuffed bears in my room that are still visible on a bookshelf, from time to time i look at them and have a smile , I really like to look at them.

And when I feel sad or for no particular reason ( like yesterday) I sleep with them in my bed, it gives me a feeling of security and kindness I don't know if this is really clear , sometimes I would even think I my head even if this is stupid that "at least they like me ".

Yeah I am stuck in childhood basically, at 26, is this something common in people with ASD ?
If so why do you do that? And how do you feel when you do?

 

[GrownupGirl]

I gave myself the username GrownupGirl for a reason. And what makes me happy and relaxed is much more important than what society thinks.

 

[kay]

May be common with NTs, too. Don't know because I doubt they would talk much about it. I sleep with a green corduroy frog that I bought for a dime at a yard sale two years ago. Before that it was a little Elmo. And I am now 46 so I think it's perfectly ok to still keep a stuffed toy for comfort and still be very much an adult. It works for some reason so why not? My frog is named Larry, by the way. I name a lot of things Larry for some reason. There is something about a stuffed critter that helps me feel calmer and sleep. And keep in mind I am not alone in bed, I have a large warm body to curl up with. But sometimes it's that stupid little green corduroy frog that helps me the most. Don't care if it's weird or not, it's a drug free way to feel better so I am going to keep Larry next to my pillow.

 

[Streetwise]

@Iamnotarabot

Yeah i am stuck in childhood basically, at 26, is this something common in people with ASD ?
If so why do you do that? And how do you feel when you do?[/QUOTE]
helps me feel like I'm the old me when my mother- (i'm very upset now because I said the word mother) was alive.
they never go anywhere they never leave me .
I think it's something to do with the word developmental parts of our brain has never aged beyond an infant .

 

[xudo]

I'm 32 and have a plethora of stuffed animals. There's a large stuffed shark called Colin on my bed at all times, and a stuffed alpaca called Dave. I also give them all names.

 

[As sweet as-pie]

I sleep with one stuffed animal. My neurotypical friend sleeps with about 15. I don't think it matters whether you're autistic or not, it's pretty normal.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Ok so thats pretty normal^^
But i never named my stuffed toys, ( the ones that I still have are the same since i am a kid)

 

[Otenba]

I have plenty of them around the house. I don't tend to sleep with any, except when I happen to need something to cuddle (which is rare).

 

[Iamnotarabot]

@Iamnotarabot

Yeah i am stuck in childhood basically, at 26, is this something common in people with ASD ?
If so why do you do that? And how do you feel when you do?

helps me feel like I'm the old me when my mother- (i'm very upset now because I said the word mother) was alive.
they never go anywhere they never leave me .
I think it's something to do with the word developmental parts of our brain has never aged beyond an infant .[/QUOTE]


I feel stuck in childhood also ! This is not only related to stuffed toys thought , but many things, like drinking apple juice always reminding me off my preschool years and the place were we had a snack etc...

 

[Tom]

I sleep with 5 girls most nights. One human, 4 canine. Anyway, during long hospital stays I slept with a stuffed animal dog I was given and it was definately comforting. I didn't care what anyone thought. But I probably would not have in other situations such as while in the military. One might get away with it there if one has enough swagger, but it would have been too much effort for me. I still have it but it has been rendered sightless and disemboweled by my jealous Chihuahuas.

 

[Kazoo]

My sister's mother sleeps with stuffed animals even though she's 39. She's neurotypical. I had one favorite stuffed animal as a child. A couple of years ago, I put it inside a closet because I thought I was too old, but then I started to feel bad for it because it was in there all alone, so now I sleep with it again. I'm 20.

 

[Mary Anne]

I used to hav hundreds of dolls and stuffed animals even into my 40s, and many surrounded the bed, or were in it with me. Then I got real pets. I still have an over sized stuffed toy skunk in my home, and a baby one in the rear window of my car. I love having them around.

I also have an enormous squeaky toy collection circa 1950s and 60s permently displayed on the walls of my living room now. I will never “grow up” and I am proud of that. I also used to collect antique tin and celluloid toys. And old farm toys too. I have owned toys from the 1920s through the 1960s.

 

[pjcnet]

Nope, I've never been interested in anything that doesn't actually do something because I've always had a very logical mind and even as a very young child I saw stuff toys, male dolls like Action Man and even toy cars as totally pointless, similarly I've never been interested in music or fashion like many children and I could never understand why other children spent time collecting things that idolised famous people, my room never had any posters of anything and I still see ornaments as pointless. As a very young child I played with Lego followed by Mechano, this moved onto electronics from about 7 years old when I understood how to build radios and then I loved very early video games consoles in the late 1970s followed by computers when I was introduced at the age of 10 and started programming not long after. I also played chess from a very early age at very high standard and I played for Birmingham UK, although computers took over everything as my special interest, this has remained the case into adulthood and I'm now 48 years old.

I have always struggled to see the attraction of a stuffed animal which is basically an inanimate object that does absolutely nothing and has no purpose what-so-ever, even for something to lie against I'd rather use a cushion or pillow as it's practical and feels better. Now a real animal is different, but I doubt my housing association would allow me to keep a real bear in my flat and I think you could safely say it would breach The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 in the UK too lol!

One of my two brothers who are both on the low functioning end of the autistic spectrum used to carry around a teddy bear constantly when he was very young and if he as much as dropped it he would have a full meltdown, but even he grew out of that.

Unless it's carried around as a possession object I don't think stuffed toys are anything specific to autism and some NTs can like them too, although I suspect that some people look back to them as comfort objects even as adults and this can be increased by things like insecurity, anxiety and/or depression, something that is more common with autistic people, also some autistic adults are more childlike which also increases the chances that they'll still like them as adults. Real animals that are practical, E.g. a cat or a dog can in my opinion be a much bigger comfort however and this has been legally recognised in the USA with Emotional Support Animals, although sadly not yet in the UK and many other countries even though some charities recognise it.

 

[SusanLR]

Staying in that stuck immature not wanting to grow up seems to be a very common thing with ASD.
I never did and never will progress past the childhood
phases of growing up. It's like I just didn't progress through those phases at a certain point around puberty.

I love stuffed toys, all sorts of novelty trinkets and collect stones. To me it has to do with evoking memories and warm emotions that help with anxiety or insecurity.
I love animals that are real too.
But, I never cared for sleeping with them.
That's just me. The only person I cared about sleeping with was my Mom as a child.
Since, I sleep alone. I like the freedom.
As far as a stuffed toy in bed, the closest things I have are two pillows on each side of my pillow that look like cats.
I do find them comforting to look at, touch and lay my head on sometimes.
I need music to go to sleep by too.

Yes, @Streetwise my Mom was the only person I ever felt really bonded to. I knew she would love me as I am no matter what.

 

[Streetwise]

I used to hav hundreds of dolls and stuffed animals even into my 40s, and many surrounded the bed, or were in it with me. Then I got real pets. I still have an over sized stuffed toy skunk in my home, and a baby one in the rear window of my car. I love having them around.

I also have an enormous squeaky toy collection circa 1950s and 60s permently displayed on the walls of my living room now. I will never “grow up” and I am proud of that. I also used to collect antique tin and celluloid toys. And old farm toys too. I have owned toys from the 1920s through the 1960s.

photos please please of squeaky toys

 

[Coupe]

I'm another 20-something who sleeps with a bunch of plushies! I always love hearing that I'm not the only one! I sleep with a variety of Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks characters, Tsum Tsums, Jellycats, Squishmallows, Itty Bittys, Beanie Babies and Steven Universe characters. I know that sounds like a lot, but they're mostly all on the small side, since I have a daybed. I've always slept with at least one stuffed animal, but it wasn't until I was about 7 and started sleeping with several different ones (lined up facing me on pillows, if I recall) that I really started sleeping better than I did in early childhood - I guess getting to sleep with many of my closest "friends" took away most of the anxiety I felt when my parents tucked me in, left my room, turned off all the lights on the top floor (where my room was) and went downstairs. So, I've just always slept that way since then. In addition, I usually have my favorite Tsum Tsum plush, Little Dory, clutched in my hand as I fall asleep - it helps me settle down faster.

 

[aspieoutlaw89]

i had a stuffed curious george,but i never slept with it.

 

[Libecht]

I've always slept with a stuffed toy until 20. Now I'm 22 and still need my comfort blanket when I sleep.

 

[china autie]

Now it is the cats and sometimes the dog.

I slept with stuffed animals regularly until my 50s and still keep them in sight.

I also like cartoons and stim toys and Harry Potter. None of these things make me any less of an adult. Adults created stuffed animals and stim toys and Harry Potter. I don't see people accusing them of being kids.

We are who we are, autistic or not. My passions and ways of being make some people uncomfortable but I am hurting no one.

 

[Solphire]

Hrm. As soon as I began my therapy and assessment for ASD, I finally buckled and caved in to my decades long desire to sleep with a stuffy. However, I settled on a super soft plushie pillow in grey. (It is less 'weird' for my husband, pffft, but it still works!)

I think that it does have something with ASD. In my case, it stems from a desire to press something against my chest while trying to sleep (due to frequent chest pains from anxiety), and the self soothing of hugging something because you feel alone in your thinking. I am sure many NTs do this as well, but for me it is a type of treatment for better rest and an attempt to relax.

I agree with the others who said they have retained many of their childhood personas. I believe a great part of myself never grew up. I shall stop feeling bad about this. I can often share happiness to those around me, as I still find great joy in the little things (especially from my senses) that some adults are too jaded to still perceive.